Stronger Together
by SapphireEJ
Summary: Drew and Rick's happy reunion is ruined when an accident puts Rick's life in danger. Drew comes out to support the man he loves. Rick's faced with a permanent physical change, but knows he's not alone, because he and Drew have always been and always will be... stronger together. (M/M fic - don't read if you don't like!) (Spoilers up to 'The Night Shift' episode 1x08 - 'Save Me')
1. Chapter 1

Title: Stronger Together, Chapter 1/?

Spoilers: Up to 1x08 ~ Save Me; AU afterward

**Warning1:** This story involves a character with a leg amputation.

**Warning2:** This story is male/male fiction. Don't read if you don't like!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Night Shift, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

**Please read - A/N3:** In March of 2013, my dad lost his left leg, just below the knee, due to an infection that antibiotics couldn't heal in his foot and lower leg. It was not something my mom, my dad and I were really ready for, but we didn't have a choice. It was either lose his foot and a little of his leg or take a chance on the infection spreading to other parts of his body and doing more damage... or worse. His recovery still is rocky, but he's alive. It's not the same life he had before, but he's here (he has other medical issues, too). Just after his amputation, my mom's cancer returned and she began treatments again, so I have become both my dad's caregiver and my mom's. With that said, I have seen all of the emotions that an amputee goes through, before, during and after the amputation. After watching 'Coming Home' and learning that Rick would only be in this episode of season 1, I wanted to write something that really showed his recovery, because I imagine season 2 will pick up at least a few months after season 1 ends, so they may not focus much on Rick's immediate recovery and I hope with my experience I'm able to show that in this story. I commend Luke Macfarlane for the way he portrayed Rick and showed all the emotions one could go through being faced with such a major life change; my dad went through them all and I deal with them on a daily basis.

Underlined text: quotes from the show - I don't own. Just borrowing for this work of fiction.

...

**Wednesday**

"Hold it!" Drew called out, moving through the sea of soldiers following their captain to the elevator to go for surgery.

Rick held back a gasp when he heard his boyfriend's voice. They'd had some problems that night, their anger getting the best of them a few times and from Drew's actions earlier, he was the last person Rick expected to appear. The moment Rick and Drew locked gazes, all their issues from that night washed away and Rick bit his tongue to keep from breaking down in front of everyone.

Drew swallowed his fear and after a quick calming breath, he stepped forward, putting all his focus on the only person in the world he truly loved. Pausing right next to the gurney, he reached out and took Rick's hand, "I'm gonna be there for you," he started, stepping closer, "I promise," Drew leaned in and rested his free hand on Rick's neck, so he could look his boyfriend in the eyes. Trying to stay strong and fighting the urge to start crying, Drew smiled weakly, "I love you."

The two men leaned in at the same time, their lips meeting in a much needed kiss, even though it wasn't how they pictured their reunion kiss. Rick's eyes fell closed briefly and he reached up to grab on to Drew's neck, both fighting their emotions. After a moment, their lips parted and they pressed their foreheads together, "me, too," Rick murmured, the two soaking up as much of each other as they could in the short connection.

Reluctantly, the two men let go as Drew nervously looked around, swallowing his emotions while the surgical staff began to move Rick's gurney into the waiting elevator. Drew stepped closer, keeping his gaze on his boyfriend, who silently nodded at him. Weakly smiling in response, Drew felt a weight lift off his shoulders at being free around those he knew, but as the soldiers crowded around the elevator just before the doors closed, Drew's stomach twisted in knots, fear building quickly.

Feeling eyes on him didn't make Drew feel any better, and before he could really think, his stomach told him what to do - run to the nearest bathroom. Almost knocking down Paul in the process, he made it to the closest stall before he lost everything in his stomach.

As if throwing up in the bathroom and kneeling on the cold tile floor wasn't the worst thing, the door opened moments later and he immediately wished he could be alone. Hearing the door shut, Drew hoped whoever was there left him alone, because the last thing he wanted to do was talk or deal with what had just happened.

"You know, you don't have to do this alone," the woman's voice filtered through the room and Drew recognized it as Landry.

"Seems like that's going around a lot tonight," Drew muttered, reaching for some tissue to wipe his mouth.

"I'm serious," she commented, remaining in her place, blocking the door so no one else could come in, "everyone's here for you. You're not alone."

Drew gathered the strength to stand up and moved over to the sinks, getting the first glimpse of himself all night. His face was red, his eyes were dark and he looked and felt exhausted, "I never thought I'd do that."

"Do what?" She wondered, "because from what I could tell tonight was the first time you've been honest with yourself in a long time. What you did took a lot of courage and I'm sure Captain Lincoln really appreciated it," she admitted softly.

"I don't want to be 'the gay doctor'," he told her, turning the water on and waiting a moment to let it cool off.

"Who said you will be?"

Throwing some cold water on his face, Drew shook his head, "no one specifically, but I just want to be me. I don't want to be labeled anything. I just want to love Rick and not care who knows and have people be my friend because they want to be."

"Drew," Landry stepped closer to him, her heels clicking on the tiled floor, "you will be you, if that's what you want. Your sexuality does not make you who you are. It is a part of you, yes, but that doesn't define you and if you lose friends because you came out, then I don't think they were the right friends in the first place. I know we've only known each other a short time, but I don't have a problem with your sexuality and I'm pretty sure no one else here does, either."

"Thanks," Drew cracked a weak smile as he reached for a paper towel to dry his face, "look, Landry, I know what you're trying to do, and I'm sorry you had to see us bickering, but our lives were turned upside down. Today was supposed to be a happy day, but I almost lost the love of my life. I'm really not in the mood to talk right now."

Landry had seen the kiss from a distance, and she knew he wouldn't be interested in talking, but she wanted to try; she cared about her coworkers and she wanted them to know even though she's the psych attending doctor, didn't mean they couldn't talk to her, "I understand, but on the bright side, you didn't lose him. He's alive, so you can be with him. It's not going to be an easy recovery, but you guys can get through it together."

"I want to be positive and say we can, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried," Drew replied, taking a deep breath. He still had fears and worries, but he agreed with what she said, Rick was still alive, he didn't lose his boyfriend, so it made everything a little easier to deal with and those thoughts helped him calm down a little.

"I'm here if you ever want to talk. Same with Rick," she told him, moving back to the door, "okay?"

"Okay, thanks," Drew nodded, watching her leave the bathroom.

Taking a deep breath, he followed Landry towards the door and stepped out, freezing in his tracks at what he saw. Many of his coworkers and all the soldiers who'd been there that night stood near the door, waiting for him.

"ATTENTION!" TC snapped out, the large group stiffened up and looked towards Drew, "Hand, SALUTE!" The group snapped a salute to the reserve officer, before lowering it as TC called, "Parade, REST!" He called out, everyone relaxing as they faced Drew.

Lifting his hand, Drew responded with his own salute, confused at what was going on, but went along with it and added the last commands, "at ease. Rest."

"Oh behalf of everyone here, we'd like to offer our complete support to you and Captain Rick," Sergeant Logan said, stepping forward to Drew, holding out his hand to him. He was one of the few men who wasn't injured in the bus accident, but he'd been there all night with his fellow soldiers, "it's been a pleasure to serve with Captain Rick and we all would proudly serve with him again. We also have much respect for you and if it's okay, we'd like to stay with you while he's in surgery."

Drew saw TC and Krista nodding and with Kenny, Topher, Paul and all the soldiers supporting him, he stepped forward and shook the man's hand, "thank you, Sergeant Logan. That really means a lot to us," Drew smiled, the first time he really ever talked about him and Rick as an 'us' without backpedaling from the slip of his name, "and I'd be happy if you stayed, but the surgery could be a few hours and," Drew took a deep breath, letting some of his medical training kick in, "he'll be in a lot of pain and probably not up for company for a while. You're welcome to stay, but you all should go home. You just got back and you don't need stay here any longer than necessary. I'd be happy to contact you if you'd like me to keep you posted on Rick's progress and when it's a good time to see him," Drew explained, looking at all of them as he stepped back.

"I'm staying," Kenny commented, stepping forward and resting his hand on Drew's shoulder.

Krista walked towards him and slid her arm around his waist, "I'm not going anywhere."

...

Though Rick's unit wanted to stick around, they realized Drew was right and the sergeant gave him his number, so Drew could keep him posted on Rick's progress and he would pass on the information to the rest of the unit.

By now it was already the beginning of the day shift, so after the soldiers began to thin out, Drew was off work. As if he was on autopilot, he moved into the locker room to change and it was there he got a chance to see that TC, Krista and Landry had been right. Everyone shared their support for him and wished him and Rick well, saying if he needed anything, not to hesitate to call. Drew thanked them and was glad to have friends and coworkers so supportive. He knew it'd make working a lot easier, now that he didn't have to hide who he truly was anymore.

It wasn't long before he was sitting in a chair in the OR waiting area. Krista, TC, Topher, Kenny, Landry, Paul and Jordan were staying for moral support and even Michael Ragosa was wandering around to keep updated.

"I appreciate you all staying, but you don't have to," Drew commented softly as he looked around to see some of them were stretched out half asleep, while others were busy on their phones.

"I'm not going anywhere," Krista commented, resting her hand on his knee as she sat next to him.

Drew glanced at Krista and smiled, "thanks."

"Have you thought about taking some time off?" Landry asked, "I'm sure you'd like to spend time with Rick."

"Yes, I want to, but I don't want to make any decisions right now," Drew replied, "when I know more, I might take some time off."

...

The group chatted lightly for a short time, but Topher was the first one to leave, his wife needing him home and Paul followed, needing to get some sleep. As much as TC and Jordan wanted to stay, both were tired after a long night and since TC had come to work with Jordan, he caught a ride with her. Kenny, Landry and Michael caved shortly after, leaving Krista and Drew in the waiting area.

"I'm going to go get something to eat in the cafeteria. Would you like something?" Krista asked.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Drew replied, realizing he was hungry.

"I'll be back," Krista nodded, rubbing his shoulder.

Drew watched her walk away and took a deep breath. His stomach was in knots. He couldn't help worrying and feeling helpless. There was nothing he could do to help save Rick's leg and that hurt worse than anything. Rick's words earlier in the ER about having gone on four different deployments and got nothing more than a sunburn and a sliver really pulled at his emotions, too, but he tried to push away his thoughts and focus on Rick.

Krista wasn't gone long, having gotten some coffee and muffins to eat. She hadn't pushed Drew to talk much while they were waiting for word on Rick, but when she returned, she couldn't wait any longer, "how are you doing?" She knew it wasn't the best question to ask, but she hoped it would start a conversation.

Nodding his thanks at the food she'd gotten, he shrugged, "I don't know."

Resting her hand on his shoulder, she rubbed it gently, "I'm here for you."

"I know. Thanks," he smiled lightly, taking a sip of the not-so-good hospital coffee.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," Krista said softly, "I should never have snapped at you like that."

"Don't apologize," Drew replied, looking at her, "you were right. What you said is was what I needed to hear. I feel like the World's Worst Boyfriend because of how I pulled away from him earlier, but I'll do just about anything to make it up to him."

"You're not the worst boyfriend, Drew, and I'm sure Rick understands. What you did probably meant more than a missed chance to be close in the ER," she admitted, "you came out in front of everyone for him. That took guts."

"That I immediately lost after he went upstairs," Drew shook his head, eating his muffin.

"It was a rough night, Drew. Trust me, I know," Krista admitted, "we all need to just put it past us."

"Yeah, I'd love to," Drew agreed, sipping his coffee and getting up to stretch a little, "I feel like this is a nightmare."

Before Krista had a chance to respond, someone walking through the doors nearby startled them and both turned to see Dr. Scott Clemmens coming from the OR.

"Drew," Scott greeted, glancing to see Krista nearby.

"How is he? Is he okay?" Drew asked quickly, moving towards the surgeon.

"His surgery went well," Scott smiled, giving them a moment to relax at the news, "I was able to save his knee, so his recovery should be a lot easier than an above-the-knee amputation," he explained, "I know it's a lot harder to learn how to use a prosthetic with a knee, so thankfully we don't have to deal with that."

Being thankful for small miracles, Drew nodded, "thanks," he replied, taking a deep breath.

"No problem. I spoke with him prior to surgery and he filled me in and I'm so sorry you guys have to go through this," Scott added, reaching out to pat Drew on the shoulder, "now he's going to be in a lot of pain, so once he wakes up, he'll be on a morphine drip. You know the drugs are probably going to keep him out of it for a while until some of the pain subsides and he can come off the drip, so you should go home. Get some sleep and come back later."

"No. I'm not leaving," Drew replied, trying not to sound too harsh, but there was no way he was leaving, "I want to see him."

Scott expected the answer, so the surgeon nodded, "okay, I'll show you where he is."

Krista had let the guys talk and was glad to hear the surgery went well. She also didn't want to intrude on any private moments, so she stood up when he came to get his bag near her, "would you like me to go with you or leave?" She asked, "I can do either. It's up to you."

Shouldering his bag, Drew looked at her, "I'm open for either," he admitted, his mind only focused on Rick at the moment.

"I'll go with," Krista smiled.

...

Scott led Drew and Krista into the surgical recovery area, where Rick would stay until he came out of anesthesia and the staff made sure that he was stable enough to be moved into a regular room.

"He's only been out of surgery a short time, so it will be a little while before he comes out of it," Scott told him, pausing next to Rick's recovery room, "and I'll be here until he's moved to a regular room, so if you need anything, just call me or have me paged, okay?"

Drew nodded at Scott, "okay. Thanks," he replied, stepping into the doorway and pausing a moment to focus on his boyfriend.

Rick was back on oxygen, so he had a nasal cannula in his nose, his eyes were closed, he was covered with a sheet, and his arms were resting on the the covers, one having an IV line trailing out of it to a stand nearby. An oxygen sensor was attached to one of his fingers and cords came out from under his hospital gown, where a heart monitor was attached to his skin and a screen behind him. A morphine drip button was in one of his hands and around his upper arm, a blood pressure cuff was wrapped and attached to the same monitor, every few minutes rechecking his pressure.

As Drew's eyes moved down his boyfriend's bed, just past his knee, the absence of his leg was easy to see, the end portion of his leg wrapped heavily with pressure dressings and propped up so it wasn't pressing against the bed.

Scott and Krista remained in the hallway, giving Drew a moment of privacy with his boyfriend.

Moving forward, Drew ran a nervous hand over his face as he walked to the edge of Rick's bed. Dropping his bag on the floor out of the way, Drew took Rick's hand in his and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Rick's forehead and begging himself to remain calm, "I'm here, Rick," he whispered, brushing his free hand over his boyfriend's cheek.

Krista quietly moved into the room and slid a chair up to Drew, "sit," she whispered.

Glancing back, Drew took a seat and kept his hand in Rick's. He knew soon Rick would be waking up and they couldn't start the pain meds until after he'd woken up, so Drew dreaded that moment, hating to know he's be in pain, but would be right there for him.

Scott had moved off to write up notes on his chart and a nurse soon joined them, checking Rick's vitals and setting everything up for the pain meds to start soon.

Time ticked by, only the monitors and the blood pressure cuff inflating breaking the silence in the room. Drew wasn't sure how long he was in there, but soon Rick's breathing quickened and he recognized the signs of him coming out of the anesthesia haze.

Drew stood up, his hand still holding on to Rick's and rested his other hand on Rick's forehead, hoping to give him as much comfort as possible as he woke up.

Slowly Rick began to stir and his eyes fluttered open briefly, enough to see Drew, before drifting closed again. His hand clamped down on Drew's tighter as pain radiated from his leg, "oh God," he gasped, his eyes snapping open and darting around the room to figure out exactly where he was, "hurts," he choked out.

"I know," Drew replied softly, gently brushing his hand across Rick's forehead, "if you press the button in your other hand, it'll control your pain meds," he explained, glancing at the nurse who nodded at him.

Rick blinked his eyes and flinched as the pain washed over him again, "shit!" He hissed, his thumb pressing the button quickly, before turning to Drew, "don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Drew promised, pressing his forehead against Rick's, "I'm right here."

With a nod, Rick's eyes drifted closed and his hand loosened a little on Drew's, the meds kicking in.

Drew sat back down and rubbed his free hand over his face, not sure how much longer he could hold himself together. He was physically and emotionally drained and knew he'd need sleep soon, but he refused to leave Rick; not until he was more awake and out of the intense pain.

Krista had taken a seat in another chair in the corner of the room. She felt horrible that there was nothing she could really do to make Drew or Rick feel better. She'd only known Drew a short time, but they'd already become friends. Sure, it started out a little awkward when she didn't know about Drew's personal life, but since then, they'd gotten to be good friends.

Scott returned and walked into the room, looking at Drew, "I don't know if you know, but bone pain can be excruciating, especially from an amputation. When I do them, after I'm done, I numb the residual limb, so hopefully the pain won't be as severe as it could be. The bone pain will subside as the body adjusts and hopefully the numbness will wear off at the same time, so the pain he'll be feeling is an ache over anything else. That's my hope. Everyone is different, so we won't know for a few hours," he explained.

Silently Drew nodded, contemplating questions that had been swirling around in his mind, "can I... do you know what happens next?"

"That all depends on him," Scott motioned to Rick, "I'm keeping him in the hospital for a few days. I'll have him in IV antibiotics and the morphine drip for as long as he needs. The antibiotics are to make sure the limb doesn't get infected, so it's just a precaution. From there, we'll see. Therapy will be in to evaluate him, to see what he can and can't do. Some amputees go into a rehab center for a short time to build some upper body strength, to help with transferring, before returning home, but some can go right home," Scott paused and glanced at Rick's vitals, "right now, he's doing great. His vitals are normal, there's no sign of bleeding from the limb, so I'm confident he'll make a full recovery and have almost the same abilities he had before this happened and I can tell he'll have a good support system around him," he glanced at Drew and then Krista.

"Definitely," Drew nodded, looking at Rick.

"Everything will come together, and forgive me for this cliché, but just take things one step at at time," Scott added, turning to the nurse next to him, "right now, I hate to do this, but I'm going to take him off the drip for a moment, because I need to do a neurological exam. If he passes, I'll put him back on it and he can be moved upstairs to a regular room."

Drew took a deep breath, "okay."

The nurse took the hint and turned off the IV and flushed the line to clear any meds out.

Krista got up and moved to stand next to Drew, unsure just what would happen when Rick woke up this time.

As the morphine slowly began to wear off, Rick became a little restless and he clamped down on Drew's hand more than he had been. His eyes clenched closed for a moment as he began to feel some of the pain from his leg. Taking a gasping breath, Rick opened his eyes and looked around, "Drew..." He trailed off as he shifted, "damn it that hurts!"

"I'm sorry, Rick," Scott leaned over, "I had to take you off the morphine briefly to ask you a few questions."

Taking a deep breath, Rick turned his head to Scott, "what are they?"

"Where are you?" Scott asked.

"San Antonio Memorial Hospital," Rick replied through clenched teeth.

"What year is it?" Scott continued.

"Twenty-fourteen," Rick answered, blinking his eyes.

"Who's next to you?" Scott motioned to Drew.

"My boyfriend Doctor and Lieutenant Andrew Alister," Rick looked at Drew and tried to smile, but he was in too much pain.

"What's your name?" Scott looked at him.

"Lincoln, Richard S. Captain US Army. 555-12-3456," Rick replied.

Scott raised a curious eyebrow at him, surprised at the answer.

"Name, rank and social security number," Drew explained, "military training."

"I see. I admit, I've never had anyone answer that question that way before," Scott smiled, nodding at the nurse to start the morphine again, "neurologically you're doing okay, so I'm going to send you up to a regular room. You can also come off the oxygen and all the monitors, so you should be more comfortable with only the one IV. Order something to eat when you feel like it, I'm not putting any restrictions on your diet," he admitted, signing some papers on his clipboard. "I'll be leaving the hospital for a few hours, but I'll check back in with you guys this evening before my shift. Drew has my number, so if either of you need anything or have questions, feel free to text or call," Scott told them.

"Thanks," Rick murmured, the morphine slowly kicking in, but not as quickly as it had previously.

Scott nodded and moved out of the room, the nurse beginning the task of removing the various monitors from Rick that were unnecessary now. Once she was finished, she stepped out to make some calls to find out where he'd be going for his stay in the hospital and Krista retook her seat.

Rick hadn't fallen asleep yet, and he hadn't pressed the button for the drip yet. He was in pain, but he was trying to fight to see how long he could hold out before he actually used the medicine, so he turned to look at his leg, shaking his head and sighing, his eyes on Drew, "God, I can't believe this happened."

Drew still had one hand in his, so he rested his other hand on Rick's shoulder and looked at him, "I'm sorry, sweetheart," he bit his lip, "but I'm here. You're not in this alone."

For a moment, Rick was silent, gathering his thoughts in the fog of the drugs he was on and nodded, "I know and thank you," he reached up carefully to Drew, "did you really kiss me in front of your coworkers?"

"I did," Drew nodded, leaning in so Rick could reach him.

"But all night you'd pulled away from me. What changed?" Rick asked.

"Let's just say someone made me see some things I hadn't thought of before," he admitted, glancing at Krista, before looking back at Rick, "I'm sorry I was an asshole earlier."

Rick shook his head, "don't be. I had my moments, too."

"You had every right to be upset and pissed," Drew told him, his thumb brushing over Rick's forehead, "we both had a horrible night."

"And this is not how I figured today would go at all," Rick sighed, "I had it all planned out."

"Oh yeah? Were you ever going to tell me those plans?" Drew smirked.

Rick's eyes drifted closed for a moment, "yeah, when you got to my place after your shift," he admitted, then opened his eyes and glanced at Krista, "you don't have to sit all the way over there, you know."

Krista stood up and moved to stand at the end of his bed, "I was just giving you guys some time. I wish there was something I could do to make this easier," she motioned between them.

"I appreciate the support," Drew commented.

"So do I and I appreciate what you did for Wilson. He was a good kid," Rick admitted, flinching a little as a twinge of pain shot through his body, "God, I hate this!" He hissed, "and where's my bag?"

"What bag?" Drew asked.

"My backpack. I don't care about my duffel. It just is my uniforms, but there's documents and important things in my backpack that I need," Rick explained.

"It didn't come with you on the ambulance," Drew told him, "so it's probably with the bus or still out on the highway."

"I could make some calls and see if I could find it," Krista offered.

"You don't have to, but I'm gonna need to find it somehow," Rick commented.

Krista moved to stand on the opposite side of the bed from Drew, "I'll find it," she promised, "I need to get some sleep before my shift tonight, too, so if you guys are okay, I'm gonna go."

"I think we'll be okay," Drew replied, getting a tired nod from Rick in agreement.

"What does your bag look like? Just like Drew's but with your name on it?" She asked, motioning to Drew's.

"Yeah, with 'Lincoln' on the name patch," Rick explained, "thank you... Krista, right?"

Krista nodded and smiled, "yeah and you're welcome. Besides, I kinda," she blushed, "well, I owe you guys for um, well, Drew can tell you how I found out about you two," she admitted, "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have done that if I had known."

"What?" Rick asked, shaking his head in confusion and looking between her and Drew.

"I'll tell you later," Drew replied and turned to Krista, "I'll text you what room he's in when I know."

With a nod, Krista grabbed her bag, "take it easy guys, Drew try to get some sleep. Are you working tonight?"

"I don't know," Drew looked at Rick, "am I?"

Rick took a deep breath and tried to think straight, "you'll be in the ER, right?" He asked and when Drew nodded, he shrugged, "if you want to. I'll probably sleep a lot and I know where you'll be if I need you. Did my phone at least make it here?"

Drew nodded, "yeah, your phone is in my bag," he motioned to his backpack with his hand that wasn't still holding Rick's, "I inventoried the stuff that came with you when I put them in the bag," he motioned to a plastic belongings bag on a counter nearby, "and when I found your phone I put it in my pocket. I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle."

"Thanks," Rick smiled.

"So, I'm gonna go. Rick, nice meeting you, I just wish it was under better circumstances," Krista nodded at him.

"Same to you," Rick waved as she moved out of the room, and once she was gone, he turned to look at Drew, "she seems nice."

"Yeah, she's cool," Drew agreed, "and a good friend."

Rick flinched again, this time his eyes watering as if he was going to cry because he was in such pain. Finally giving in, he pressed the morphine button, "this will get easier, right?"

Drew leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his boyfriend's lips, "that's my hope. I wish I knew for sure, but we'll deal with whatever it is together, okay?"

Rick nodded and smiled, squeezing his hand gently, "okay."

...

The surgery had taken place towards the end of the night shift and by the time Rick was moved up to a regular hospital room, it was after noon and Drew was getting tired. He had to work that night at seven, so once Rick got settled in bed, still groggy and in and out of it from the pain meds, Drew settled into the small recliner in the room to get some sleep after setting an alarm for five, hoping for at least a few hours of sleep.

Rick loved that his boyfriend was there. It meant the world to him that he'd been by his side since waking up from surgery and after their kiss, he knew he would be, but he couldn't really enjoy being close to him, because he had to keep taking the pain medication and it kept him in a fog. He wished he didn't need the strong medication, but his leg hurt and when it did, the pain shot through his whole body at times, which is why the morphine was necessary. He just hoped the pain would subside soon, because he hated feeling like he was in a drug haze.

Nurses and aides were in and out, checking on him and a few recognized Drew from the ER or could tell he was asleep and tried to keep quiet so they didn't wake him up.

Rick woke up from one of his drug induced naps while Drew was still sleeping. He had a private room, which he was thankful for and reaching for his phone, he began scrolling through his messages. Drew had been the first person he'd talked to since arriving home, but he had a family back in Washington state who he'd promised to call. He'd grown up in Seattle, where most of his family still lived, so that's why he knew the stuff the Army tried to pass off as coffee and apples were no where near close.

Glancing over to his boyfriend, and seeing he was sound asleep, Rick dialed the familiar Washington number and waited for someone to pick up. After two rings, a female voice picked up and Rick smiled lightly, "hey mom."

"Rick! I'm so glad to hear your voice!" The older woman exclaimed, immediately recognizing her youngest son's voice.

"Me, too," he agreed.

"How are you? Are you home in San Antonio now or are you still on your way?" She asked, knowing he was coming home, but didn't know how long it would exactly take.

"You could say that," he agreed, his eyes looking towards where his right foot and lower leg used to be, now the absence hurting more than the pain he felt throughout his body, "I haven't made it home yet and I don't know when I'll be able to get there."

"What do you mean? Sweetheart, you don't sound good. What's wrong?" She asked quickly, able to tell by the tone of his voice that something was going on.

"The bus the guys and I were in on our way home was in an accident," he started, taking a deep breath, "I don't remember the actual crash. One minute I'm talking to Drew on the phone and the next thing I know I'm waking up in his ER with a bunch of my men, Drew and a doctor, looking over me and talking about my leg."

"Oh my God!" The woman gasped, "your leg? What happened to your leg? Are you okay? Drew never called me!"

"I lost it mom, it's gone," he commented softly, fighting his emotions as he admitted the truth, "they tried to save it, but it was too damaged in the crash. I had to have emergency surgery this morning." A sob echoed over the phone and Rick immediately hated to share the news over the phone, but he knew he wouldn't be making it to Washington anytime soon and didn't want her or any of his family to find out from anyone but him, "mom, I'm sorry. This is the last thing I wanted to do, but I didn't want you to hear from anyone else."

"My baby boy," she cried, "why didn't Drew call me? He should have!"

"Mom, don't get mad at Drew. He was working in the ER all night. They were trying to save my leg," Rick replied, glancing at his boyfriend who was still asleep, "I'm sure the last thing on his mind was who he needed to call. That's why I'm calling."

"What hospital are you at? I'm booking the next flight to San Antonio!" She retorted.

"Don't rush down here, mom," Rick sighed, having not thought much about what his mom might do after hearing the news.

"Well, I'm not just going to sit here while my youngest son is laying in a hospital bed without a leg!" She snapped.

Being the youngest boy of the family, but having a sister a few years younger, had it's moments. He was one of four kids, he also had two older siblings, a brother and a sister, so his mom always babied him and his younger sister. He hated it, especially being an officer in the US Army, but he knew there was no talking his mom out of anything, "just promise me you're not going to be mad at Drew."

The woman was silent a long moment, "fine," she sighed, "but he better have a good explanation."

"Mom, he came out in front of my men and his coworkers. Leave him alone," Rick replied firmly.

Rick had never been as private with his sexuality as Drew had been. Rick's family all knew he was gay, even before he and Drew had gotten together. The Lincolns all supported Rick's choice and easily welcomed Drew to the family, but understood their reasons for keeping their relationship a secret from everyone else. There were too many gray areas when it came to their careers to take a chance on the information getting to the wrong person. Now it wasn't as problematic, but Drew still held issues with coming out... Something he'd pushed aside earlier to show his boyfriend how much he cared and that meant more to Rick than he could truly admit.

"Oh my word! He did?" The woman gasped.

A twinge of pain shot through his body again and he hissed, "yeah," he choked out.

"What's wrong?" She asked quickly.

"Just in pain. I don't wanna keep taking the morphine. It knocks me out," he admitted.

"Richard Scott Lincoln! You take those pain killers if you need them! Don't go playing the tough soldier act!" The woman snapped.

Rolling his eyes at the harsh tone she was using, he clarified, "I don't want to take the morphine. Every time I take it, it knocks me out."

"So ask for something else," she suggested, her tone calming down just slightly.

"I know, mom. My surgeon is gonna be around before his shift tonight, so I'm going to ask," he promised, looking at the clock.

"What hospital are you in?" She asked.

"San Antonio Memorial Hospital," he replied, "room 418."

...

Rick ended his conversation with his mom after a few moments. He needed to take the pain medicine and he didn't want to fall asleep while he was on the phone with her. He saw it was around four and hoped he'd wake up when Drew's alarm went off, so he could warn his boyfriend about his mom. As he drifted off from the meds, questions and things began to swirl in the fog from the drugs, but he couldn't focus on any one of them.

...

Waking up to his alarm, Drew shifted and for a moment looked around to figure out where he was as he turned off the beeping. Immediately recognizing the hospital room, the memories from the last day came back to him. Surprised he'd slept for four hours, he was glad for the time to recharge his batteries and sat the chair up, looking over at Rick, who was awake and looking back at him.

"Hey," Rick smiled lightly, just waking up again himself.

Drew stood up, stretching a little, before walking over to him, "hey back," he replied, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. They hadn't been much for PDAs, but at the moment, he didn't care, "how are you doing? You need anything?"

Rick shrugged, his eyes heavy, "I don't know. Do I have to stay in this gown?" He wondered, tugging at the stiff material.

"No," Drew shook his head, "I've got a clean Army t-shirt in my locker downstairs, if you want me to get it."

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Rick nodded, "so, um," he took a deep breath, "I called my mom."

The moment Rick said that, Drew's stomach sunk. He knew he'd forgotten to do something. He'd messaged Sergeant Logan earlier to let him know Rick had gotten through surgery, but he hadn't thought to call Rick's family, "how'd she take it?"

"She freaked out. Was pissed at you for not calling, but I talked her out of that and said she was booking the next flight in. I don't know if she was serious, but I think she was," Rick admitted.

Drew took a deep breath, "she's coming here?"

"Maybe," Rick replied, "sorry. I didn't even think that she might want to come here."

"Don't be sorry. I'm glad you called. I feel bad I didn't, but I had other things on my mind," Drew admitted.

"Oh yeah, like what? That new girlfriend of yours?" Rick winked, trying to tease his boyfriend.

"She's not my girlfriend," Drew retorted quickly, "she's just a friend. You know I've only got eyes for you."

"I never doubted that," Rick assured him, "though now I'm even more curious how she found out you were gay."

...

Drew quickly explained how their relationship had started and about the kiss while she was trying to fix his hand after his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight. Rick was glad Drew had told her the truth, because that would have been awkward later on, if he hadn't. Drew continued to explain the awkward kiss they'd shared during the storm, to throw off the radiologist and Molly, who was trying to set Drew up with her niece.

"I can just see that happening," Rick laughed, "thanks! I needed to laugh!"

"I wasn't funny! Molly later threatened me!" Drew replied, trying to be serious, but he couldn't help cracking his own smile, glad to hear Rick's laugh again, even if he didn't think the story was too funny.

"I totally want to hear what she has to say now!" Rick smirked.

"Oh God," Drew groaned, taking a seat on the edge of Rick's bed, "now I don't want to go down there."

"Well, you have to. I wanna get out of this gown," Rick replied simply, tugging at the neckline a little.

Taking a deep breath, Drew nodded, "alright. I'll go shower and change into my scrubs, then come back before my shift, okay?"

Rick nodded, "yeah, okay," he sat up a little and reached out to rest his hand on Drew's neck, rubbing it gently.

Drew smiled and welcomed the warm touch of the familiar hand on his body, "I've missed you," he admitted, shifting to hug him tightly.

"You're not the only one," Rick agreed, soaking in the moment as he returned his hug, having missed being so close to Drew, "we're gonna be okay, right?"

"Of course we are," Drew promised, pulling back to look into the blue eyes of his boyfriend, "I'm not letting you go through this alone. You're everything to me and that will never change. I love you."

"I love you, too," Rick smiled, resting his hand on Drew's cheek, "I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

...

A/N4: Hope you all enjoyed! This is my first time writing a same-sex couple (as main characters), so please be gentle! I'd love to hear what you think, too, so please review and let me know! I really love these characters and am really excited to write this (I already have another 60 pages written!), so I hope to see you back for more! Thanks for reading!

A/N5: You can catch me a lot on Twitter and sometimes on Tumblr. I'm EJ8302 on both of them... I've been known to get my tweets favorited by actors of The Night Shift and even responses, which is so cool!

A/N6: As I stated earlier, I'm caregiver to both my parents, which leaves me limited free time. I know I have many Puckleberry WIPs... I'm not neglecting any of them, but this fic has taken hold of my brain and I'm going with it. It's the first real time I've had major inspiration for solo writing in over a year. I hope I'm able to get back to my other WIPs (most have not been updated for some time), so please know I haven't left the Puckleberry fandom! I'm also a co-writer on a Blue Bloods (TV show) fan fic with my BH sis Annic, which we started a few months ago. That's when my writing began again, so I'm thankful to my BH sis for helping me get back to doing any kind of writing and I'm hoping I can soon continue all of my WIPs... I promise I'm still here and thank you to all of you for your support, love and sticking with me! It truly means the world to me!

...


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Stronger Together, Chapter 2/?

Spoilers: Up to 1x08 ~ Save Me; AU afterward

**Warning1:** This story involves a character with a leg amputation.

**Warning2:** This story is male/male fiction. Don't read if you don't like!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Night Shift, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

**Warning3:** This chapter contains an explanation of what Rick's amputation looks like. If that bothers you, I've put (**...start explanation...**) before it and added (**...stop**** explanation****...**) after, so you can skip over the section, if you'd like. I'm very familiar with what it looks like post-surgery, having been around my dad's and done wound care for him. Just wanted to warn you all, in case that was something you weren't up for reading.

...

After a few more moments together, Drew reluctantly pulled from his boyfriend to return to the doctor's locker room in the ER. Thankful for the showers, Drew took a quick one and changed into the familiar blue scrubs and tried to get ready for his shift that night. His mind was still in a fog, but with Rick more like himself, he felt better about everything going on.

Once he was dressed, he clipped his badge to his scrubs and threw his stethoscope around his neck, before grabbing his extra t-shirt and leaving the locker room. No one from the night shift was there yet, and he wasn't stopped by anyone, so he was able to slip in and out quickly. He briefly went to get some coffee and soon was back on his boyfriend's floor, finding Scott just arriving, too.

"Hey, Drew. Did you go home?" Scott wondered, noticing he wasn't in the same clothes he'd had on earlier.

"No, I slept in the recliner in Rick's room. Just went and changed," he admitted.

"I see. How are you guys doing?" Scott asked.

"Okay. I think. This wasn't how we pictured his return, but he's home and he knows I'm gonna be there for him, so we'll be alright," Drew explained.

"That's understandable. I'm gonna go check in with his nurse and I'll be in shortly," Scott replied.

Drew nodded and moved on, heading to Rick's room. As he arrived, he stepped in without knocking, knowing Rick wouldn't care and saw him playing a game on his phone, "I'm back."

Rick looked up and put his phone down, "what's up, doc?" He smirked, laughing lightly.

"Oh, yeah, like I haven't heard that one before," Drew laughed, tossing the shirt towards him.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Rick replied, taking the shirt and immediately pulling the gown off.

Drew continued to smile as he took in his boyfriend, seeing a view he hadn't been able to see in so long, but before he could truly react or say anything, Scott walked in.

...

Scott talked with Rick about how he was doing and left him with the morphine drip, but reduced the dose he could get and also ordered pill form drugs to take for the pain. Scott was glad to see he was in better spirits and told him by the next day the physical therapist would be in to evaluate his situation and maybe get him up a little.

After talking with them for a short time, Scott soon headed downstairs, giving Rick and Drew a chance to be alone a little longer before Drew had to get to work.

"When did this get here?" Drew asked, noticing Rick's backpack sitting on the chair he'd slept in.

"Not even ten minutes after you went to change Krista showed up with it. She said she found it at the wrecking yard," he explained, "can you hand it to me?"

Drew picked the bag up and carried it to him, setting it on the bed, "so what's in it that was so important?"

Rick unzipped one of the sides and briefly pulled out his passport, "this, for one," he admitted, "but not the main reason."

With a nod, Drew took a seat on the edge of Rick's bed to face him, "are you ever going to tell me what you had planned for today?"

Rick continued to dig through his bag for a moment, sighing in relief when he found what he was looking for, and turning to look at his boyfriend, "well, I figured you'd come over when you got off work. We'd have breakfast and crash for a few hours, before going on the hike we'd planned. We'd take lunch with us and on a break somewhere peaceful and quiet, I'd tell you that this was my last deployment for a while."

"Really?" Drew grinned.

"Yeah," Rick nodded, returning his bright smile, "then I was gonna suggest we take some leave and go somewhere for a small vacation."

"Sounds great!" Drew agreed, resting one of his hands on Rick's thigh, "I'd have to find out how much time I can get off, but I'd love to go somewhere with you."

"That might be a while," Rick motioned to his absent foot, "but I still want to get away with you," he paused and looked at Drew, reaching up to rest his free hand on his cheek, "and I had this whole speech almost memorized, but I've forgotten most of it now."

Drew reached up and joined his hand with Rick's, "it's okay," he told him, not quite realizing what he was getting at.

Rick smiled and took a deep breath, "you're the love of my life, Drew. I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"I feel the same way about you, Rick," Drew replied, returning his smile.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Rick pulled something out of his bag and looked at the small item for a moment, before closing a hand around it and moving his bag away, so he could get closer to Drew, "the reason I was so pissed about us not being able to go hiking, was because I planned something special for the first day we could spend together after I got home," he explained, taking a deep breath, "and I know this is not near what I planned, but I'm not going to let this," he motioned to his leg, "ruin what I've wanted to do for a long time," Rick glanced at his hand and slowly opened it, holding his palm up to show Drew.

Immediately, Drew recognized the velvet box for a ring and he couldn't help a gasp escape his lips, "what are you... What's... Rick?"

Rick expected him to be shocked, so he placed the box in Drew's hand and covered it with his own, "I will always love you. I know this is a big decision and you don't have to answer right away. What's in this box is yours, no matter your answer, okay?" Rick asked and at Drew's silent nod, he continued, "you brighten my life and I don't want to spend another moment without you. Drew, will you marry me?" Rick asked, slightly nervous at what his reaction would be, but he'd waited months to propose and wasn't going to let being in the hospital stop him from asking Drew.

Drew blinked in shock as his brain processed the question he'd just been asked. Shifting a little, he took his hands back from Rick and opened the small box to see the ring inside. It had a continuous infinity symbol engraved around the whole band, the engraving itself black, so it stood out from the white gold band, "oh, Rick," Drew swallowed, feeling tears build in his eyes as he looked up at Rick, "I..."

"Like I said, you don't have to answer right now, but that's yours, from me, no matter what it is. I love you no matter what," Rick told him honestly, "and you're gonna be late if you don't go now," he added, knowing what time his shift started. He hated that he dropped that question on him when he had to leave for work, but he'd wanted to ask the first day they could be together when he was home from deployment and it still was that day, even if they were celebrating it while he was in the hospital.

It wasn't that Drew wanted to say 'no', he just had never contemplated a proposal for them. He felt almost like an idiot for even assuming they'd just date for the rest of their lives. He knew numerous states around the country had been legalizing same-sex marriages in the past few years, so a legal marriage was possible for them. Plus with the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy gone in the military, they couldn't discharge them for it, but still, it just wasn't something he'd expected. "I love you, too," Drew smiled, wiping his eyes quickly and closing the box, before moving to press a kiss to Rick's lips, "I will be back soon," he promised, not wanting him to go too long without an answer.

"You better be," Rick winked, leaning back, his leg hurting, but not near what it had been earlier. He could tell Drew was emotional from the question, but didn't want to push him, so he was okay to let their conversation settle.

Drew stood up and smiled at Rick, sliding the box into one of the side pockets on the leg of his pants and then walked towards the door, silently letting Rick's question linger for a while, so he could think.

As Drew walked away, Rick smiled at the view he was getting, "I hate to see you leave, but I love watching you walk away."

"I think Scott gave you too many meds. They're making you loopy," Drew laughed, waving at him, "see you in a few hours."

"Be careful!"

Drew nodded, "always am."

...

Drew took the elevator from the fourth floor, where Rick's room was, down to the ER. As he went downstairs, he took the box out of his pocket and looked at the ring, amazed at it. The logo inside the box told him it was a Titanium band and he could definitely see himself wearing it for a long time; Rick knew him well.

As the elevator came to a stop in the ER, Drew closed the box and returned it to his pocket as the doors opened. Stepping off, he wandered down to the nurses' station, where they always met for their before-shift meeting.

"There you are," Krista said, walking out of the locker room, "I didn't see you upstairs when I brought Rick's bag up."

"Yeah, we must have past in the elevators," Drew replied, "thanks for finding it. I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"No, it wasn't. I was surprised myself. I called the police department and explained I was a friend of one of the soldiers in the accident and wanted to pick up his belongings. They said where it'd been towed to and I could pick up his stuff there, so I found the place and got it," she explained, slipping her arm around his.

"Still, thank you," Drew smiled, coming to a stop by the desk, where Paul, Kenny, TC and Topher were already standing, "hey guys."

"Drew! Hey, man, how's Rick?" TC asked.

"He's doing okay right now. Thanks for everything last night," Drew replied.

"I wish I could have done more," TC admitted.

"You did all that you could," Drew assured him, "we appreciate what you tried. I'm just glad he's alive. I know he's upset, but I'm pretty sure he'll have great success with a prosthetic."

"He will. He's young and strong. He can do it," TC agreed.

"Drew," Kenny walked over and put his hand on his shoulder, "man, I had no idea. I feel like an ass for all the times trying to get information out of you about your girlfriend."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I should never had led you on with all the talk about a girlfriend anyway. It's my bad," Drew admitted.

Molly, the nurse who'd been trying to set Drew up with her niece, walked towards him and eyed him for a long moment. "I really should be pissed at you," she commented, "but I'm glad you finally came to your senses and admitted who you really were. You could have told me and I would have stopped trying to set my niece up with you. You didn't need Krista to hide behind," she smirked.

"Hey, that was all her idea," Drew raised his hands, glancing at Krista, "I had nothing to do with that kiss."

"True. It was me being spontaneous and he was so not into it," Krista agreed.

Drew looked at Molly, "I'm sorry, but I wasn't ready to say anything at the time."

The nurse eyed him and nodded, "I understand."

...

With a brief meeting, the group moved on to their patients, some seeing new ones, while others picked up with patients day shift had to transfer over. Drew had his mind half on his patients and half on the ring in his pocket, so he wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on around him, but when he was standing around, doing paperwork or waiting for test results, he casually listened to what people were saying. He was glad no one was talking about him; he didn't want to be the center of attention, and he had hoped it would work that way, but he'd always feared that if he came out, everyone would be talking about it or not support him and he was happy to hear that wasn't the case.

After the previous night, it was pretty slow in the ER. Drew had seen a few patients, like all of his coworkers, and after he finished with the chart for his third discharge that night, he went out to get a coffee at one of the food trucks.

"Hey, Drew, how are you?" Krista asked, as she and Paul walked up beside him.

"I'm good. What's up?" He asked coming to stand in the line.

"It's been a sl..." Paul started.

Drew reached out and put his hand over Paul's mouth, "don't say it! You'll jinx it!"

"Say what? That it's been a slow night?" Paul asked, confused at what he meant.

Drew, and several of the nurses and doctors nearby, groaned, "good job, Paul. I'm blaming you for any drama tonight," Drew muttered, having been looking forward to an easy shift. Paul quickly apologized and Drew passed off a chance to give him a hard time, because Drew had more important things on his mind.

Getting to the front of the line, Drew ordered his coffee, and Krista and Paul followed, before they returned to the ER for their next round of patients.

Krista and Drew were standing at the nurse's station and her knee bumped his, "sorry," she murmured, glancing down, "what's that?" She asked, noticing the square bump on the side of his leg.

"Oh, um," Drew glanced down, "it's nothing," he replied, turning so she couldn't get to it.

"That doesn't look like nothing. If I didn't know any better I'd think that was a ring box," she admitted softly so only he could hear it, recognizing the small size. As she saw Drew raise his eyebrows curiously, she gasped, "is that what... Drew? Seriously?"

Knowing she wouldn't let it go, Drew took a deep breath, put his hand on her shoulder and guided her away from the desk and into one of the empty and dimly lit exam rooms.

"Is that a ring box?" She asked once he shut the door, "it is, isn't it?"

"Yes," Drew nodded, smiling as he reached for the box and opened it to show her the ring.

"Oh wow, Drew!" She grinned, taking the box to look at the ring, "you're going to propose?"

Drew shook his head and took the box back, returning it to his pocket, "that's what was in Rick's bag he was so concerned about."

"Oh my God!" Krista gasped, "he proposed? What did you say?"

"Nothing, I mean," he sighed, rubbing his neck nervously, "I hardly could process what he was asking. He told me I didn't have to answer right away, because he knew it was a big decision and either way this is mine from him."

Krista's eye widened in shock, "Drew, you can't leave him hanging."

"I know. I'm not going to wait long to answer. It's been on my mind all night. He's the love of my life and I can't stand to be without him," Drew admitted, "I just never imagined we'd be out to where we could get engaged or married."

"I get that," she agreed, "it's only been in the last few years that same-sex marriages have become more legal and recognized in the military. If you've been thinking about it, have you made up your mind?"

Getting the box out again, Drew looked at the ring and took it out for the first time. Studying it for a moment, he slid it onto his left hand and smiled when it fit perfectly on his ring finger. Thoughts that had been swirling around in his mind all night calmed the moment he put the ring on, "can you cover for me for like fifteen minutes?" He asked, not wanting to wait any longer.

"Of course," she grinned, "go!"

Drew smiled and pocketed the empty box, putting his hands in his scrub top's pockets before he slipped out of the room, trying to get to the elevator without being sidetracked.

Thankfully, no one was by the elevators, so he was able to step on and head upstairs without being seen and as he reached Rick's room, he noticed a nurse was standing by his room with his chart, "hey," he greeted softly.

The young woman glanced up and her eyes immediately saw the doctor badge he wore, "Dr. Alister, can I help you?"

"Nope," Drew shook his head, "just popping in to see Rick on my break," he admitted, "I promise we'll be quiet."

"Oh, alright," she smiled, "I'll be in to give him his antibiotics in a few moments."

Drew nodded and slipped into his room and peeked around the pulled curtain to see Rick was leaning back, his good leg up, with his foot on the bed, his amputation propped up on a pillow. His eyes were closed, so Drew hated to wake him, but he knew he'd be woken up in a few moments, so he took Rick's hand and leaned over to press and kiss to his forehead, "wake up, Rick."

Stirring at the sound of his boyfriend's voice, Rick opened his eyes and smiled at Drew, "hey, what time is it?"

"A little after eleven-pm," Drew admitted, "I'm on a break."

"Oh, cool. I didn't expect to see you until after your shift," Rick smiled, adjusting his eyes to the dim light of the room, "everything okay?"

"Yeah," Drew took the empty box from his pocket with his right hand, while his left held onto Rick's, "thought I'd bring this back."

"Back?" Rick narrowed his eyes in confusion, looking at the unopened box, "it's for you."

"I know, that's why I'm wearing it," Drew replied with a smile, lifting his hand to show him, "and there's only one answer I can give you. Yes, with all my heart, yes."

Rick smiled brightly and sat up a little, letting go of Drew's hand to wrap his arms around him for a tight hug, "I love you," he murmured.

Drew easily returned his hug and smiled happily, feeling like everything would be alright, even with the ups and downs coming at them, "I love you, too, Rick, more than anything."

...

Drew was on a high when he returned to the ER just ten minutes later. He hated to leave Rick so suddenly after saying 'yes', but he was on the job and couldn't be gone too long or people would come looking for him. Rick understood and was fine with him going back to work and Drew promised he'd be back as soon as he could.

Krista had been on the lookout for his return and the moment she saw him reach the nurse's station, she casually walked over, noticing his hands in his pockets, "Drew..."

"What's up?" He asked curiously.

"What's up? What do you think?" She eyed him, glancing towards his hidden hands.

"Chill out," he smirked, lifting his hand to show her the ring, before putting his left hand back into his pocket, "we can talk later," he promised, not wanting to draw attention to it at the moment. He wanted a few minutes to have it to himself, because he knew news traveled fast in the ER.

Krista nodded and smiled, "congrats," she whispered.

"Thanks," he smiled, reaching to put on a pair of gloves.

...

**Thursday**

A new day began and Paul thought he was in the clear from his comment earlier in the shift, but a little after one-am, three young adults came in having been in a car accident, their car having been hit by a drunk driver. Topher took lead on one of them, Drew and Krista took another, Jordan worked on another with Paul and TC took the driver, who was extremely drunk and before they could really get into treating him, he died.

Drunk driving accidents were sadly a common appearance during the night shift and it always hit everyone hard. Thankfully with all hands working on the young adults, two of them bounced back quickly and only one had to be sent up to Scott for an emergency removal of their spleen.

With Topher, Krista and Drew's patients stable, the three were able to go get their next coffee of the shift, "since when did you start wearing a ring?" Topher asked, motioning to the band on Drew's hand.

"Uh," Drew glanced at his hand, "since today."

"Really?" Topher grinned, "did I miss something?"

"No," Drew shook his head, contemplating what he should say and realized he was already out, and he didn't want to keep hiding from his coworkers, "I wasn't going to say anything, because you know I'm not one to want to be the center of attention," he admitted, then smiled, "Rick and I got engaged."

"Congratulations!" Topher replied, "I'm happy for you guys."

...

As the shift wore on, more of Drew's friends found out and offered their congratulations. Drew was glad to have their support and part of him thought he should have come out sooner, but decided to put it in the past and focus on him, Rick and their future.

By four-am, Drew and Krista's patient from the car accident had been moved up to a hospital room for a brief stay to recover and Krista worked on their chart, so Drew moved on to the next patient. He saw a few more that shift, and Drew was practically counting the time before he was off. He loved his job, but even through what happened, he was still glad to have Rick home and wanted to spend more time with him, so he was keeping up with his charts, so he wouldn't have to stay longer to do paperwork.

Just after six-thirty, the whole night shift was looking forward to getting off work. Krista was walking out of an exam room and saw two women walk in, looking around for someone, "can I help you?" Krista asked, stepping towards them.

"Oh, yes, I'm looking for Dr. Alister," the oldest explained, "is he here?"

"Um, yes, he is. Are you a patient?" Krista wondered, looking to see if she could see Drew around, confused at who would be looking for him.

Just as Krista saw Drew walk out of a nearby exam room, the woman did too and stepped away from her, "Andrew Michael Alister, get your ass over here!" The woman exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Setting the chart down on the nurse's station, Drew froze when he heard his full name and slowly turned to see Rick's mom and younger sister standing in the ER. Swallowing nervously, he took a deep breath and moved towards them.

"Drew, do you know them?" Krista asked, her eyes wide from shock.

"Krista meet Terry," he motioned to the older woman, "and Gabby," he nodded at the younger one, "Rick's mom and younger sister," he explained, his hands staying in his pockets, so they didn't see the ring he had on, "ladies, this is my friend Krista."

"Oh wow! Hi," Krista waved, "nice to meet you both."

"You as well," Terry replied, "I apologize for the outburst."

"It's okay," Krista smiled, looking at Drew, "do you need help with any patients before our shift is over?"

"No, I just discharged my last patient. It's almost seven. I'm gonna see if Jordan will let me leave a few minutes early," he added, "would you like me to take you up to Rick now or can you wait a bit?" He asked, looking at Terry and Gabby.

"We can wait for you," Terry replied, "I want to see my son, but I don't know my way around the hospital."

...

Since it was close enough to seven, Jordan didn't have a problem with Drew cutting out early, so he went to change and clean up a little, before grabbing his bag and moving to meet Rick's mom and sister in the ER waiting room.

Guiding them down the hallway, they paused at the elevator and Drew was unconsciously holding his backpack with his left hand, so the ring was visible.

"Oh my word! What is that?" Terry gasped, motioning to his hand.

Drew glanced down and his eyes widened, "um, well, why don't you ask Rick that," he replied quickly. The last thing he wanted to be doing was telling Rick's family the news before Rick had a chance to.

"So this is the hospital you've been working in for a little over a year, huh?" Gabby asked, looking at Drew as they stepped onto the elevator, trying to help change the subject; she had a feeling she knew why Drew was being hesitant to answer.

"Yeah, it is," Drew agreed.

"That's cool. So you're a real doctor, I mean, you see patients, right?" She wondered.

"I do. I'm still a resident, so I have to work under the observation of an attending physician, but in the general scheme of things, I'm a doctor. After a few more years of residency, I'll be a full doctor," Drew explained.

"That's when you'll go back to work for the Army, right?" Terry asked.

Drew nodded, "yeah, for a minimum of ten years."

As the three stepped off the elevator, Drew guided them down the hallway he'd walked quite a few times already and paused outside of Rick's room. Listening for a moment and not hearing anything, he stepped inside and glanced around, surprised to see Rick gone. Darting his eyes around the room, Drew noticed his backpack was still there, along with a duffel bag with his name on it, so he knew he hadn't changed rooms, and the IV stand was sitting by the bed, the tubing hanging over the hook, so his nurse had unhooked him from it. Turning around he motioned for Gabby and Terry to come in, "he's not here, so I'm gonna go see where he is," he admitted.

As the two walked inside, Drew stepped out and went to find his nurse. He still had his badge on, so a woman standing at the nurses station smiled at him, "can I help you doctor?"

"I was wondering what happened to the patient in 418," he admitted.

"Um, I'm not sure. His nurse is," she glanced at the sheet in front of her, "Mandy," she motioned to the same one he'd seen earlier when he'd been up there, doing her charts on a computer nearby.

"Thank you," Drew smiled, moving towards her, "Mandy?"

"Hey, Dr. Alister. Can I help you with something?" She asked, standing and smiling at him.

"Did Rick get taken for a test or something?" He asked, "because he's not in his room."

"Oh! An Army friend of his came in a bit ago to drop his duffel bag off. He wanted to get out of the room, so I got him some crutches and unhooked him from his IV, since he didn't want the morphine and the only other IV medicine he's getting is antibiotics, but only at certain times a day. He said he'd broken his leg in the past, so he knew how to use the crutches and he and his friend went down to the cafeteria for breakfast," she explained, just as Scott walked towards them, also in search of Rick.

"Wait a second, what was that?" Scott asked, stepping up to them, "did you say you let my patient go out of his room with crutches, without consulting his doctor or a therapist who hasn't even evaluated him yet?"

"Captain Lincoln is quiet fit and he had no problem using the crutches, so as an RN and because I had no documentation that said he couldn't leave his room without authorization, I saw no reason why he couldn't leave. This is a surgical recovery floor and we encourage patients to get up and move around. His limb is not bleeding and his vitals are all normal, so he was fine to go," she explained.

Before Scott could respond, Drew put a hand up to stop the surgeon from going into a rant, "you're right. I'm on your side, Mandy," Drew replied, "thanks," he nodded at her and rested his hand on Scott's shoulder to guide him away from the nurse, "it's okay."

"But..." Scott started.

"I'm surprised Rick stayed in bed as long as he did. She's right, he's fit and has used crutches before. There's no reason why he couldn't get up and move around. I was gonna do that this afternoon, actually. We're Army. You can't keep us down for long," Drew explained as they walked back towards the elevators, "and with all due respect, if you're gonna be here, you should get used to that."

"I guess I am," Scott agreed, "look, I have short surgery in a few minutes. I'll be back in a little while. Do you think you can get him back to his room soon and keep him there until I can talk with you guys?"

"I can do that," Drew nodded, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it is. I just wanted to talk about the next stage," Scott replied, nodding at Drew and stepping away to return to the OR.

Drew moved back towards Rick's room and saw his sister and mom sitting in a few of the chairs, "he went downstairs to the cafeteria with an Army buddy that stopped by," he explained, "you two want something to eat? My treat."

"Sure!" Gabby grinned, standing up, "mom wanted to come right here and I suggested food first."

"Forgive me if my son was more important than eating," Terry replied, standing up, "but thank you, Drew. Breakfast sounds great!"

...

Leaving his bag, Drew kept his badge and wallet and moved back to the elevator with them and soon was heading down to the main level of the hospital to get to the cafeteria. It wasn't typical hospital food, they did have some decent things to get and as Drew motioned around, telling the women to get anything they'd like, he wandered into the quiet cafeteria and found Rick and his buddy, one of the guys that had been in the ER the night before.

Rick looked more awake than when he'd left him hours prior and Drew was glad to see him out of the room. He still had on Drew's t-shirt and now had on a pair of sweat pants, but reminding him of what happened, leaning against the table were the crutches he was using. "Hey, guys," Drew greeted, wanting to warn Rick of his visitors.

"Lieutenant," the man stood up, "sir."

"At ease," Drew waved off the greeting, as the guy sat back down, "I'm not here as an officer," he admitted, turning to look at Rick, "you're a hard guy to find."

Rick laughed lightly, "sorry, I had to get out of that room."

"That's okay," he assured him, "Dr. Clemmens was a little pissed, though," he added, glancing to see the two Lincoln women getting their breakfast, "I wanted to give you a warning. Your mom and little sister are here."

"What?" Rick gasped, sitting up a little more and turning to look towards them, but from where he was sitting he couldn't see them.

"They're getting breakfast. I'm gonna go grab something. Mind if we join you?" He asked, glancing at the other guy, unsure if he'd be okay with that.

"Feel free," the man motioned to the empty chairs at the table.

Drew nodded and moved to pick up a few items for breakfast and once he, Terry and Gabby had gotten their stuff rung up, he used his badge to pay and then the three moved towards the guys' table, "they're over here," he explained, partially keeping an eye on Gabby and Terry. The last thing he wanted was them freaking out, but with Rick sitting down and having sweats on, his amputation wasn't as visible as it could be.

"Oh my baby boy!" Terry gasped as soon as she saw him, setting her tray on the table and rushing to Rick, putting her arms around him and kissing his cheek.

"Gee, mom, you sure know how to embarrass a Captain in the US Army," Gabby shook her head.

Rick turned and hugged his mom, glad to see some of his family after having been gone so long, "I agree with you sis, but given the situation, right now, I don't care," Rick commented, kissing his mom's cheek, before reaching for his sister and putting his arm around her in a hug.

Drew looked at Sergeant Logan, "did you find his bag?"

"Yeah. I went to pick up my stuff and saw it was still there. He said Dr. Krista had gotten his backpack," he explained, "I'm glad the surgery went well."

"Me, too," Drew looked at Rick, "and it looks like he'll be up and about sooner than expected. I thought his surgeon was gonna have a fit when he found out he was down here with crutches."

"What did he expect me to do? I don't do well sitting on my ass," Rick commented as his mom took a seat next to him and Gabby next to her, so Drew sat down next to Sergeant Logan.

"I told him he can't keep us Army guys down for long," Drew replied.

"Exactly!" Rick replied.

"Oh, you boys and your tough acts. Twenty-four hours ago you had your leg cut off, I think you're allowed to take care of yourself," Terry huffed.

Rick turned to his mom, "what would you rather me do? Lay in bed for the next six weeks and feel sorry for myself? Not happening. I'm not thrilled with what happened," he motioned below the table where his leg was missing, "but at this moment, I'm glad to be alive and as I was told yesterday, we can deal with the rest later," he glanced at Drew and smiled, "I just needed a clear head to think straight."

Drew returned Rick's smile, "I figured it would help and yeah, we can deal with the rest later."

...

The group chatted lightly while they ate and when they finished, Logan excused himself. He had to report to work soon and didn't want to be late, so Rick thanked him for bringing his bag and Logan shared handshakes with everyone before he left.

Deciding to go back to Rick's room, Gabby and Terry returned all their trays and came back to the guys. At Rick's suggestion, Gabby and Terry headed back to his room, while Drew 'helped' him stand up.

"I didn't need your help, actually, but it got them away for five minutes," Rick admitted softly, carefully resting one hand on the back of his chair and the other on the table, before pushing himself up on his good leg, able to balance on it to get the crutches under his arms. Once settled, Rick was leaning a little forward to balance himself, but was able to look at Drew, almost eye-to-eye. He had been scared he'd never be able to do that again, but he told himself he would stand and walk again, which is why he refused to use a wheelchair, "hey."

"Hey back," Drew replied with a smile, "you okay?"

"I am now," he nodded, motioning towards the way his mom and sister had gone, "I'll tell you upstairs."

"Okay," Drew nodded.

Silently Rick took off first, moving easily on the crutches and Drew followed beside him, or behind him, so people could pass. Drew was happy to see Rick up and moving; he hated to admit he briefly worried Rick would just give up, but he was glad to see that he was fighting back and adapting to the changes and Drew looked forward to being there with him through them all.

As they guys got onto the elevator, thankfully without anyone else, Rick looked at Drew, "I have some things I want to talk to you about, but I can't with mom and Gabby around. Do you know where they're staying?"

"No," Drew shook his head, "all I know is your mom rented a car. Neither of us really have a ton of extra space, but we can't expect them to stay in a hotel. Your mom doesn't seem like she's going to just be here a few days," Drew admitted.

Taking a deep breath, Rick gathered his thoughts, "when I'm discharged, I don't think I'll be able to go back to my place for a while. I live on the second floor of an apartment complex with no elevator. Even with crutches that's gonna be a lot of work, and I don't know if I could do it right now."

Drew nodded in understanding and stepped closer, "I was kinda hoping I could get a roommate. I mean, we did just get engaged, didn't we?"

Rick smiled, nodding at him, "we definitely did. You want me to move in?"

"Yeah, I do," Drew replied, "I was going to ask you anyway, honestly."

"Really? You weren't concerned about people finding out?" Rick raised a curious eyebrow at him, "sorry, I don't mean to bring that up, but that just surprised me."

The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor and Rick moved off first, followed by Drew, which gave Drew a moment to collect his thoughts, "you're worth more to me than labels. At the time I thought about it, I figured it wouldn't be unusual for two officers to live together, since one's deployed a lot, so it wouldn't raise too many questions, but now," the two paused near his room, "I wanna live with my fiancé. I'm tired of pretending that what we have is nothing when it's everything to me."

Rick carefully took one of his hands off his crutches and reached out, brushing his hand over Drew's arm, the doctor not flinching away like he'd done in the ER. The simple connection, even briefly, was what the two needed and he smiled, "I'm in, Drew. You're everything to me, too, and I completely agree. I'm tired of pretending."

Drew nodded and smiled, "I'm so glad you're home."

"Me, too," Rick returned his smile.

"Oh, you should know your mom saw the ring, but I didn't tell her anything," Drew added, before the two continued to his room.

Rick groaned. He hadn't expected to see his family so soon after getting home from deployment, so he figured they'd share the news once they'd had some time to enjoy their engagement, "since all of my plans have changed, what do you think we should do?"

"Everyone I work with knows, so you better tell them. They'll be around and if it slips, they're gonna be upset we didn't tell them," Drew admitted.

Nodding, the two reached is room and Rick smiled at his mom and sister, waiting for them to come back, "hey," he moved to the side of the bed near where they were sitting.

Terry took a deep breath, for the first time really seeing the absence of his lower leg and got up, moving towards him, "this is not how I imagined your return home," she admitted, fighting tears.

Leaning against the bed, so it helped support him, Rick set his crutches aside and put his arms out, pulling his mom into a hug, "same here, but I'm home," he murmured.

Gabby stood up and moved over to Drew, leaning against the wall at the end of Rick's bed, "how are you doing?" She asked, looking at him, "mom said you had been in the ER when Rick came in."

Drew looked at her, taking a deep breath, "I was. I remember talking to him on the phone and hanging up kinda quickly because someone wanted to show me something. The next thing I know we're all standing around for a quick meeting and Molly is saying dispatch just called. There had been a bus accident and all the injured were soldiers and our patients would be there in twenty minutes," he explained, noticing Rick and Terry were now listening, "it was the worst feeling in the world. I had no clue if you'd be at our hospital or if it was even your bus, but I didn't have time to worry. I had to get ready for traumas and when the first ambulances showed up, I almost didn't want to and Jordan showed up, immediately jumping right in and people were stumbling over each other. Scott was asking me for an extra set of hands and all I could do was look at the soldier's faces, praying you weren't injured. When I saw the medics pull out that stretcher with you on it, unconscious, all I could do was yell for TC. He's the only one who knew about us, besides Krista, and he also was a field doctor and ranger in the Army, so he's the only one I trusted to work on you," he explained, "it was the best and worst day of my life."

Rick held out his hand to his fiancé, "come here," he murmured, wishing he could walk towards him, but he knew that wouldn't happen for a while.

Stepping forward, Drew took his hand, unsure what he was going to do.

When Drew got close enough, Rick shifted from his mom and put his arms around Drew, hugging him as close to normally as he had since he'd gotten home, "it was the best and worst day of my life, too," he whispered, "and I never thought I'd be able to do this again."

Drew happily put his arms around Rick, and held him tightly for a moment. He, too, had worried they'd never stand and hug like that again; it had been weird to lean down to Rick, when Rick had always been a few inches taller than him, "me too," he whispered, "just don't scare the crap out of me like that again, okay?"

Rick laughed lightly as he pulled back from Drew to look at him, "I'll do my best," he promised, reaching for Drew's left hand, looking at the ring he now had on it, "you give me a reason to stay safe," Rick turned to look at his mom and sister, "we're engaged," he smiled, before shifting to sit down, his good leg not strong enough to stay standing on it for too long yet.

"I knew it!" Terry gasped, smiling brightly. "How long? Have you been keeping it a secret or did it just happen?"

"It just happened. I brought the ring home with me from deployment," Rick explained, moving back on the bed to get comfortable.

Drew kept quiet for a moment, trying to gauge how Gabby and Terry took the news. His mom knew he was gay, but he didn't think anyone else in his family knew, including his strict, former military father. When Rick's family had found out they were together, it gave Drew a slight freedom and relief to know that at least if they stayed together, they'd have some family that supported their relationship, in case his family wasn't as open to his lifestyle choice as Rick's was.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Terry smiled, slipping her arm around Drew's back, "Drew, you know you're already part of the family. Now it's gonna be official."

"Thank you," Drew smiled, still getting used to being more open with people when it came to their relationship.

Hearing a knock on the door, Scott stepped inside, "there you are!" He commented, holding Rick's chart in his hand, "I thought you disappeared on me."

"Nah, just had to get out of this room," Rick replied with a laugh, "oh, mom, sis, this is Dr. Scott Clemmens. He's my surgeon."

"Nice to meet you," Scott nodded, "sorry it's under these circumstances."

"So when can I get out of here?" Rick asked.

"Richard! You just had surgery!" Terry replied glancing at her son.

"And my fiancé is an ER doctor," Rick retorted turning back to Scott.

Scott couldn't help a quick smirk grow on his face at his response, "actually that's what I'm here to talk about. As I was informed earlier and can obviously see, you're not one to stay down long. I get it, but I still have some tests and things that need to happen before you can leave, so maybe a few days. I also want you to continue IV antibiotics while you're here, too."

Rick sighed, but nodded, "yeah, okay. I can deal with a few more days."

"I promise you won't be here too much longer, but I'd like to talk about what happens after you leave here," Scott admitted.

"What do you mean? I go home, right?" Rick asked.

"Typically new amputees leave the hospital and go to a rehab center to learn how to live without the limb they lost. After learning you were already up and moving around with crutches, I'm curious if that's necessary," Scott told him.

"It's not. I'm not going anywhere, but home," Rick said firmly, "I'm sorry, but I'm still pissed that this happened in the first place," he motioned to his absent limb, "but I realize now that I've got a life I wanna live and I'd like to get back to it. I don't need to go to some rehab center and be away from my family any more than I already have been. I train with my soldiers. I've got plenty of upper body strength to support myself and I can deal with crutches for a few weeks or months until I can get a prosthetic," Rick told him, "I just want to go home."

Scott nodded in understanding and smiled, "that's what I was looking to hear. I'm having a really hard time coming up with anything wrong with you, besides the amputation, that would warrant a stay in a rehab center, so if you're sure you can go home, and physical therapy agrees, I'm fine with that. Also, I'd like, if you're okay with it, to have Drew unwrap your limb, so we can see it, and have him wrap it back up, because I imagine he'll be the one doing most of the wound care while it's healing."

Rick looked at Drew, "you up for that?"

Drew took a deep breath and nodded, "yeah. It'll be hard, but I'm not gonna let someone else do it."

"I'd like to do that now, if that's okay," Scott admitted and Rick nodded that it was okay, "you ladies can step out if you don't feel comfortable with this."

"I'm staying," Gabby replied.

"Me, too," Terry said, taking Rick's hand in hers.

"Okay. Drew, why don't you come with me, we'll get the supplies and come back to do that," Scott replied.

Drew nodded, following Scott out of the room and over to the supply closet, collecting the bandages they'd need. "I know we've only known each other a short time, but I really commend you for how well you seem to be handling this," Scott commented.

"Thanks. I'm trying," Drew replied, taking a deep breath, "I can't believe this happened, but he's alive. I'm thankful for that and I know we can deal with everything else together."

...

**...start explanation...**

When Drew and Scott returned to the room, Rick had pulled his pant leg up, so his mom and sister could really see his leg; Gabby was stunned and Terry had tears falling from her eyes. Drew understood what they were feeling, but needed to empty what was in his hands, so he chose to finish gathering things up. Grabbing a box of large gloves from the rack, he set them and the supplies on the bed, before stepping closer to the two and putting an arm around each of them. Gabby sunk against him and so did Terry, "let it out," he murmured, for once being able to truly console upset family members. He normally needed to stay as neutral as possible when it came to dealing with patient's family members in the ER, showing concern, while keeping his emotions from getting in the way. The benefit at the moment was that he wasn't being a doctor; he was taking care of his family and as much as they needed the comfort, so did he.

After a brief hug, Gabby pulled back from Drew and thanked him for that. Drew nodded at her and Terry took a few moments longer to calm down before she pulled away and thanked him, assuring him she was fine and urged him to get to work.

Once Drew was sure Gabby and Terry were alright, he took a seat on the edge of Rick's bed and put on a pair of gloves.

Rick couldn't help having an entertaining thought and laughed lightly, "I could really say something right now, but I'm so not going to," he commented, hoping it would break the tension in the room as Drew began to open some of the gauze he'd need, along with one of the bottles of saline.

Drew lost himself in what he was doing, carefully removing the dressing so it wouldn't disrupt any of the staples holding the incision closed. Finally, after a large pile of used gauze was made on the bed, he finally uncovered the incision.

Tossing the old gauze away, Drew took a moment to look at his residual limb, a little smaller than the rest of his leg, due to the pressure the dressing was purposely putting on it, so fluid wouldn't settle in the area, preventing healing. Near his knee, a suction drain tube was attached to a small bulb to catch any excess fluid, though it was pretty empty. Just at the bend of his knee was the first incision, that he'd come in with, so that was stapled up and so was the area a few inches below it. A flap of skin that used to be the back of his lower leg, what hadn't been damaged during the failed procedure TC tried, was now brought forward, creating a smooth base and was stapled in the front of the limb, an inch from the base.

Scott, also wearing gloves, motioned to the incision, "with the staples in, you can't be putting weight on it. That's why most amputees start out in a wheelchair, but I see you're already up to crutches, so that's alright. You just have to be careful. There was a lot of trauma to the limb, before and during the amputation, so you have to give as much time as you can to let it heal completely before you start putting weight on it," he explained, "whoever ends up working with you to make your prosthetic will be able to tell when it's healed enough, but if you're not comfortable or ready, let them know. They won't push you," Scott added, reaching for the scissors and snipped the tiny string holding the drain from slipping out too soon and removed the tubing, since the drain was empty, "this can come out, too."

Rick flinched a little as it came out, stinging at the movement, but once it was gone, part of the ache he'd had subsided, "remind me to take drugs before you do this again."

"Sorry," Drew replied softly, gently resting his gloved hand on the side of Rick's knee, hoping it could soothe things for a moment.

"It's okay. Just stings a little," Rick admitted, looking at Scott, "so no weight on it for what? A few months?"

"I'd say at least six weeks, maybe more," Scott told him, "but the staples probably will be ready to come out within two weeks; the outside skin should be closed by then, but you'll still be healing inside. I'll let Drew be the judge on when to remove them."

Drew nodded and took the bottle of saline and some gauze and began to lightly clean the skin where the staples were, "I imagine I'll remove a few at a time. That way, there's less chance the incision could open before it's healed completely."

"Good idea," Scott agreed, looking at the wound, "how does it look, Drew?" Scott asked, looking at the younger doctor.

Drew finished cleaning and brushed his thumb over the skin, "I think it looks really good. There's no swelling or sign of infection," he admitted, changing his gloves.

"I concur," Scott agreed, writing some notes on the chart in his hand, "now, when you wrap it, you can't go straight across or you could cut the circulation off, so make a figure-8 around the limb. Also make sure it's tight to stay secure, but not tight enough that it could cause more problems."

Drew laid some light gauze over the two incisions to catch any drainage and then took Scott's direction, wrapping it the way he suggested. As he finished, he used some tape to secure the gauze so it didn't unravel, "how's that?" He asked, glancing at Rick.

**...stop explanation...**

Rick shrugged, "feels fine. I guess we'll know in a while if it stays," he smiled, "thanks."

"No problem," Drew smiled, taking off his gloves and moving to get some hand sanitizer, "seems easy enough. It'll only have to be wrapped like that while the staples are still in and the incision is fresh, right?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. Now, when you go for a prosthetic, they may give you a stocking to wear that keeps the limb in the same shape, so it'll make wearing a prosthetic easier, but that will be up to you and them. I have a feeling you'll be back to the gym as soon as you can, huh?" Scott asked, glancing at Rick.

"Maybe not right away, but soon," Rick replied, "what about physical therapy?"

"As we've discussed, you're already further along than many patients in your place, so it'll be up to the physical therapist here that evaluates you to see if you need it. I don't think you do," Scott replied, "after you get your prosthetic, you will, though; you'll have to learn how to wear it and see how things will change with it."

"So, in other words, I'm here for the next few days for antibiotics and then I'm free to go home?" Rick asked, "the other stuff will come later?"

"If the tests I'm ordering are normal and physical therapy agrees, then yes, after a few more doses of IV antibiotics, I'll discharge you to go home," Scott smiled.

"Awesome!" Rick smiled, happy to hear that, "thanks!"

The others thanked Scott and he nodded his goodbyes, leaving to put some orders in for some tests and to finish charting his visit.

"Talk about lucky. You have a doctor for a fiancé," Gabby grinned.

Rick looked at Drew and smiled, "yeah, I'm pretty lucky."

"You're not the only lucky one," Drew replied, smiling at him. Before he could say anything else, a yawn slipped from his lips, "sorry," he murmured.

"You should go home and get some sleep," Rick commented, looking at his fiancé.

"What? You trying to get rid of me?" Drew asked with a grin.

"Not at all, but you slept here yesterday and have had a few long shifts," Rick admitted, "I don't want you to leave, but you need a break, Drew."

Drew took a deep breath and nodded, "yeah, I guess," he agreed, "want me to take your bags?" He motioned to Rick's duffel and backpack.

"Um, yeah," Rick shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, "I could use some clothes. You think you could swing by my place?"

"I could definitely do that," Drew nodded, stepping closer to his fiancé.

Rick pushed himself to stand up again and Drew reached out to help him balance, "this is gonna take some getting used to. Thanks," he murmured, shifting to wrap his arms around Drew, "I love you."

Drew's eyes fell closed as he held onto his fiancé, taking a calming breath and soaking in his warmth, "I love you, too. So much."

...

A/N3: Hope everyone enjoyed! Please review and let me know! The moment Rick made the comment that he and Drew were supposed to go hiking, I got this feeling he had more of a reason why he was pissed than just a change of plans and this is what came from it. I wanted to give them some happiness with all that was going on... I have over 60 pages written and tons more on my mind to write, so this is definitely going to be a WIP for quite some time! I love Drew and Rick individually and as a couple, so I hope we're able to see more of them in season 2!

A/N4: I never knew how painful it'd be to lose a limb, but after my dad's surgery, I quickly learned. His surgery happened in the evening and when the surgeon talked to me and my mom afterward, he told us he would be in recovery and moved to his room after a few hours, so we went home to get some sleep. We found out from dad that he was in the recovery area for over six hours, in his words 'screaming and crying like a baby. My leg hurt so bad I wanted them to just kill me'. He says he'd never felt pain like that before and if something happens to his good leg, he'd rather die than lose his other leg, because he never wants to feel that pain again... My dad's surgeon didn't numb his leg, but I wrote it for Rick, so he could be in some pain, but not near what my dad was in; I don't wish that pain on anyone! I'll still show him in pain, because he will be for some time, but it's fiction and I wanted to give Rick some more relief than what my dad had at first.

A/N5: To all the guest reviewers I couldn't reply to, thank you all for your love and support and hope to hear from you again!

A/N6: Sending a huge thanks and shout out to the **nightshiftfanficcommunity** on Tumblr for the warm welcome! Check it out if you get a chance! It's awesome!

...


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Stronger Together, Chapter 3/?

Spoilers: Up to 1x08 ~ Save Me; AU afterward

**Warning1:** This story involves a character with a leg amputation.

**Warning2:** This story is male/male fiction. Don't read if you don't like!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Night Shift, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: This is the first time I've written a gay couple as main characters. In my other stories, the same-sex couples are parents or friends of my main characters, so I'm really glad to be getting such a positive response to the way I'm writing Drew and Rick! It really means a lot to me! I hope I continue to represent them well!

...

Before Drew actually left the hospital, he, Rick, Wendy and Gabby talked briefly about where they would be staying. Rick offered his apartment, since he wouldn't be going there whenever he was discharged and even though they had just arrived to see Rick, the two women followed Drew over to Rick's place in their rental car, so they were sure they knew how to get there. Drew, knowing Rick's landlady, talked with the woman to explain who they were and why Gabby and Wendy were there and introduced them, so there wasn't an issue with them being in and out of Rick's apartment.

Rick's landlady was happy to let them stay, understanding the situation, and once she had spoken with them, Drew took Rick's duffel and helped Wendy and Gabby get their bags up to his apartment. Drew had left Rick's backpack in his SUV, but had gotten Rick's apartment keys from it, giving them to Wendy and Gabby, and once he dropped off the bags in his hands, he went into Rick's room and collected a few days worth of clean clothes while the two Lincolns settled in.

Once Drew had gotten some things for Rick, he shouldered the bag and shared 'goodbyes' with Gabby and Terry. Heading out to his SUV with Rick's bag, he soon was heading home. It was a little closer to the hospital than Rick's place, but they didn't live too far apart, so not living 'together' hadn't been too hard, but Drew was glad they were finally moving in together, even though he wished they'd done it sooner. It wasn't just because of the accident, but in a way, the accident nudged them into taking another positive step in their relationship.

Pulling into his single-car driveway, Drew climbed out and gathered his and Rick's backpacks, leaving the bag of clothes in the backseat. Going to get his mail, Drew moved up the small walkway and towards his front door. He lived in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom, single-story duplex. The building was connected in the middle by single-car garage for each side of the place, and the backyard had a small fence separating it for the two sides of the house. The place was nothing more than a small apartment inside, and for what Drew needed, he was perfectly content with what he had and knew he and Rick would be happy there for quite some time.

Moving inside, he dropped his mail and their backpacks by the door as he closed it. With a quick glance around to see it looked halfway decent for people to visit, he then headed to his room. Kicking off his shoes, he pulled the blankets back before he laid down, feeling like he hadn't slept in days; the chair in Rick's room wasn't the most comfortable. Turning his head to his clock, his eyes landed on the only visible picture he had of him and Rick in the apartment. It was one of them on the beach in Hawaii, both smiling happily. Drew smiled at the memory and looked at his hand to see the ring on it, but before he could really think about anything, exhaustion finally took over and he drifted off to sleep.

...

It wasn't often that Drew had dreams. He wasn't sure if it was from being over worked, his odd hours or just not having anything to dream about, but for the first time in months, he fell into such a deep sleep that dreams flooded his mind. Unfortunately, his dreams quickly morphed into a harsh nightmare. When he'd had them in the past, Drew could usually wake himself up before they got too bad, but this time he just couldn't pull himself out until the end, causing himself to wake quickly, gasping and feeling tears in his eyes. "Oh shit," he muttered, looking at the clock to see it was almost four-pm. Shifting a little, he dug for his phone and pulled up Rick's number and hit 'send'.

After three rings, Drew got a little worried, but quickly calmed down when he heard the familiar voice of his fiancé, "hey babe, you get some sleep?" Rick asked curiously.

"Are you okay?" Drew asked quickly, hating to sound so frantic, but the dream he'd had freaked him out.

"Yeah. I'm as good as can be expected," Rick replied, a little confused, "are you okay?"

"No," Drew murmured, rubbing his face, "but I'm getting better."

"What happened?" Rick wondered.

"Just had a really bad dream that felt a lot more real than it was," Drew murmured, taking a deep breath, "sorry. I shouldn't have called like this."

"I don't mind. I'm fine and my mom and sister just went to get dinner," Rick admitted, "we ordered you something, too, if you want it."

"Thanks," Drew smiled, "it's so nice to be able to call and have you answer."

Rick smiled, "I know the feeling and knowing that you're in the same state is great, too."

Drew glanced at his left hand and happily twirled his engagement ring, "yeah, that's definitely great," he agreed, "I love you."

"I love you, too. Why don't you get ready and come up here?" He suggested, "I could use the testosterone."

"What?" Drew laughed, moving to get up and began emptying his pockets, having been too tired to change when he got home.

"My mom and sister are driving me nuts. Mom keeps fixing my pillows and asking if I need a blanket or want my leg propped up. My sister is trying to calm my mom down and then they get into an argument that I have to break up," he sighed, "please."

"I'll be up there soon," Drew promised, laughing lightly.

...

Just after five, Drew was driving to the hospital, having left after he showered and changed clothes. Once at the hospital, he parked in the employee parking lot and headed for the ER and the doctor's locker room. Stuffing his bag into his locker and dropping Rick's on a bench nearby, Drew changed into clean scrubs and got ready for work, his stethoscope around his neck and his badge clipped to his shirt. Grabbing Rick's bag from where he'd set it, he headed upstairs to his fiancé. As he neared the room, he could hear laughing, so he stepped inside and saw Krista there, laughing and joking around with Rick, his mom and sister, "so the party's up here, huh?"

"Hey, babe," Rick smiled at him.

"Hey, back," Drew replied, moving towards him, dropping Rick's bag on his bed.

"You look better than you did this morning," Rick admitted.

"I guess. I got a few hours of sleep. Can't say they were restful, but they must have worked," Drew shrugged.

Rick reached out and hooked a finger into one of the pockets of Drew's scrub shirt, "back to these things again. You look so much better out of them."

Drew's cheeks flushed and Gabby groaned. She loved the two of them, and always supported them, but just like with her other siblings and parents, being the youngest, she teased all of them about anything that could be considered sexual, even if they hadn't meant it that way.

"I don't know if I've ever seen you blush like that," Krista grinned.

"It's not something that happens often," Drew replied with a laugh.

"I just mean they're so baggy you can't see him. I didn't mean it _that_ way, well maybe a little, but that wasn't my initial meaning," Rick smiled, patting Drew's abdomen with his hand, still feeling his toned abs under the scrubs and t-shirt he had on.

It wasn't a touch they usually shared in front of people, but they were comfortable with those there, so it was easy for them to show just how close they really were, "but they're so comfortable. Much looser than our uniforms," Drew admitted.

"Good point," Rick agreed, shifting on the bed, so there was more room next to him and patted the space he'd just moved from, "have a seat. I don't bite. Much," he winked.

The room laughed and Drew sat down on the edge of the bed and kicked his feet up, not often he spent time laying down on the hospital furniture, but he would definitely make an exception for his fiancé and winked at him playfully, "is that a promise?"

...

The group dug into the Chinese food Rick's mom and sister had gone to pick up and after a short time, someone knocked on the door and since no one was expecting anyone, Rick called for them to come in and moments later, TC and Topher walked in.

"Hey! Hope we're not interrupting," TC commented, looking around.

"Nope, just hanging out," Rick assured them.

"I don't know if you remember me, but I was your doctor in the ER," TC explained.

"I vaguely remember," Rick admitted, "you tried to save my leg. Thank you for that."

"Just wish I could have done more," TC replied, reaching to shake his hand.

Rick returned the handshake and shrugged, "you tried. I've come to terms with it a little and I'm back with him, so I'll manage," he added, motioning to Drew next to him.

TC smiled, "I'm glad you finally came out," he looked at Drew, "I know what you did couldn't have been easy, but we got your back," TC assured him.

"Thanks, guys," Drew smiled, nodding at them, "Rick, this is Topher. I don't know if you guys met that night."

"I think I saw you working with Wilson," Rick admitted, shaking Topher's hand when he stepped forward.

"I did. Nice to meet you. Sorry about Wilson. Seemed like a good kid," Topher replied, "sounds like you're doing well."

"Yeah, as good as can be expected. Physical therapy signed off on me going home, too," he glanced at Drew, "that happened while you were at home."

"That's great," Drew smiled, "I kinda figured they would."

"Mr. Show-off over here," Gabby laughed, "I thought the PT lady was gonna have a heart attack."

Rick shook his head, "well, she kept asking these stupid questions about if I could lift my leg and bend my knee. I simply said I'm a soldier and I could do a lot more than that. Then I got down on the floor and did ten push-ups, stood on my hands, walked on them across the room and got back up all by myself." The entire room erupted in laughter at Rick's words, "I'm not kidding. And mom's over there practically yelling at me like I'm a toddler again, "Rick, get up, you're gonna hurt yourself," and it's like, I've done four tours in the worst place imaginable. I've had bullets flying past my head, lost guys in combat, have been in brawls and hand-to-hand combat situations and seen things people could only have nightmares about. This is not going to keep me down. I've got a lot more to live for," Rick explained, looking at his mom, "I'll be fine."

Terry rolled her eyes, "no matter how old you are, even when you're gray and have kids of your own, you're gonna always be my baby boy."

"Just give in, bro. I did years ago," Gabby admitted, "because we're always going to be the babies of the family."

Rick looked at his fiancé when Terry mentioned kids of his own. He and Drew loved kids, both having nieces and nephews, but it wasn't a conversation they'd ever really had and Rick, in the past, had figured they'd never be able to settle down to have a family for various reasons, unsure if they'd ever be 'out' enough to, or be able to with their military careers.

Drew shared similar thoughts as he looked at Rick, but no one really caught on, because it happened so briefly and new arrivals interrupted their conversation. This time, when Rick called them in, he kissed Drew, not realizing who had arrived.

Walking into the room was a woman, dressed in an Army Combat Uniform (ACU), cover in her hand and wearing the same patches as Rick wore on his uniform.

The moment Drew saw the woman and her rank patch, his eyes widened and he practically fell off the bed in shock.

"Lieutenant First Class and Doctor Drew Alister, I presume," the woman smiled, nodding at Drew, before turning to Rick, "Rick, how are you feeling?"

"I'm doing alright. Lieutenant Colonel Maggie Samson, I'd like you to meet my fiancé Drew. Drew this is the Maggie I've mentioned and who I told about us while I was deployed," Rick admitted, glancing at his fiancé, who still looked shocked, "remember me asking you if it was okay?"

Drew blinked, then calmed down and stepped forward, holding out his hand, "it's nice to meet you, ma'am. Forgive me, I didn't realize that the 'Maggie' Rick spoke of was a Lieutenant Colonel."

"It's okay," she shook his hand, "it's nice to finally meet you. I feel like I already know you," she added with a smile, "and it's just Maggie. I'm off duty," she glanced at Rick, "sorry I'm just getting here, Rick. It's been hectic since the accident."

"I imagine it would be. I'm afraid to ask, but how many were seriously injured? How many did we lose?" Rick asked softly, the question having been on his mind for a while.

"We lost three. You and a few others are the most serious injured, thankfully most everyone made it out with minimal injuries," she explained, "and General Plat is trying to pull some strings to get you all purple hearts."

"Why? It was a bus accident. Not enemy related," Rick replied.

"I know, but as he said, you were not physically on post yet, so he's trying to get it. I don't know if it will happen, but he's trying. You all deserve it," Maggie explained.

Rick shrugged, "I guess. If he can get it, great, but I'm not holding my breath."

...

Maggie stayed for a short time, glad to see Rick was doing so well and was happy to hear Drew and Rick were finally be open about their personal life. By the time she left, Drew could easily see that Rick and Maggie had a friendship like he had with Krista and though he was still surprised that she was a Lieutenant Colonel, several ranks higher than Drew at a First Lieutenant and Rick at Captain, he was glad to see Rick had someone close to him that he could talk with.

Topher, TC and Krista left just after she did, off to get ready for work and Drew promised he'd see them downstairs. Knowing Drew had about an hour before he needed to be in the ER, Gabby talked Terry into going down to the cafeteria for some coffee, allowing Rick and Drew to get some time alone.

Drew was sitting next to Rick on the bed and turned to his side to face his fiancé, who was now laying on his back, one hand behind his head, and Drew took his left hand and reached for Rick's other hand, "alone finally," he murmured, deciding to hold off on mentioning Maggie and her visit until later on when they would have plenty of time to talk.

Rick nodded and looked at Drew, the way they were laying suggested more than he was up for in a hospital, but just being close to him meant a lot, "yeah, finally. And this is not how I imagined us being in bed together for the first time since getting home."

"We'll have plenty of time for that soon," Drew smiled lightly, draping his arm over Rick's chest, resting his left hand above Rick's heart.

Smiling at Drew, Rick lifted his other arm and put it around Drew's neck, pulling him close and kissing him on the lips, "did you have the same thought I did when my mom mentioned kids?"

"That we'd never talked about us having kids?" Drew asked and when Rick nodded, he returned his nod, "yeah, I thought that, too. Is that a possibility?"

"Well, I don't think I have to tell you that we can't physically make kids between us," Rick smirked.

Drew laughed lightly and patted his chest, "obviously. I'd be fine with adopting or having a surrogate... If that's something we'd be up for. Do you want kids?"

"I've thought of them, but knowing we're gay and planned to have careers in the military, it was hard to consider them. We never knew if we'd ever be able to be 'out' enough to have a family, but," Rick took a deep breath and then smiled at his fiancé, "I definitely want to have kids. Do you? If you don't, I'd be fine with that, too, and how we have them; I'm open for either. I know you'd be a great dad, if you did want to have them."

When Drew asked Rick, he also took a moment to gather his own thoughts and he kept coming back to how much he loved Rick and wanted to have a family with him, "you'll be a great dad, too. I want us to have a family," he murmured, pressing a kiss to Rick's lips.

Rick shifted and wrapped his other arm around Drew and the two settled together for a few silent moments to soak in what they'd just talked about and decided; one day, they would, somehow, have kids of their own. "I really wish we were home right now," Rick murmured, hating that he was keeping an eye on the clock, but he knew Drew had to work that evening and he didn't want him to be late.

"Me, too," Drew agreed, hearing voices near the door, recognizing Terry and Gabby had come back, but he refused to move. It was the closest, physically, that he'd been to Rick since he'd gotten home and he did not want to let go anytime soon, "we'll get there soon."

There was something Rick had on his mind since it'd happened in the ER and he knew he could pass it off as the drugs and being mad at the world, but he'd seen the hurt in Drew's eyes when he'd walked away and he hated that he made Drew feel that way, "Drew, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Drew asked, pulling back to look at him.

"For almost outing you before you were ready in front of Dr. De La Cruz," he told him, "and for the other stuff I said."

"Don't," Drew shook his head, "you don't have to apologize for that. We both were not thinking clearly and," Drew took Rick's hand in his, "you were upset. We both were and you were just taking it out on the closest person you trusted. We're gonna have arguments, all couples do, it's how we handle them that's important and I'm confident if we argue, we'll be able to work things out," he smiled, pressing a kiss to Rick's hand.

Rick smiled and sighed in relief, loving how Drew could calm him down with such simple touches, "you're amazing, Drew."

Drew looked up at Rick, "so are you," he smiled, shifting to hug him.

As the two men hugged, Rick's mom and sister walked into the room without knocking, "oh you two are so adorable!" She grinned brightly.

The guys pulled apart and both blushed at her, "thanks, mom. Two tough soldiers just love to be called adorable," Rick rolled his eyes.

"I'm just so happy you two are open," Terry smiled, "there's no need to hide."

"My mom is the only one of my family who knows and it's because she figured it out," Drew admitted, biting his lip, "I guess I should think about going home to tell them."

"Do that when you're ready," Rick told him, "I'm here and I'll even go with you if you want me to," he assured him.

Drew smiled at Rick, "thanks. We'll see, okay? I don't know how well they'll take it if they find out and meet you all at the same time."

"We'll do this however you want to," Rick replied, smiling.

As Drew nodded, Scott knocked on the door and stepped inside, holding a folder, "hey guys," Scott smiled.

"Hey doc," Rick waved.

"I hear you gave the physical therapist a run for her money," Scott grinned.

Rick laughed, "you could say that."

"Well, they passed you and because you were up for being a pin cushion today, I got the results back to all of the blood work I ordered and they're all normal. I would have been in sooner, but I wanted to finish this up," he held out a folder and a pen to Rick.

"What's this?" Rick asked, looking at him as he took the items.

On the folder was a collection of papers, including a few small sheets, one a prescription for pain killers and another for antibiotics. Another sheet had orders for crutches and the larger sheet was a three layered sheet of paper with his discharge orders, ready for him to sign and some notes about who to contact for his prosthetic and some other details he might need. "I see no reason to keep you any longer. Your leg is healing well, Drew can handle the wound care and can recognize any concerning issues, your blood work is normal, so since you had IV antibiotics this afternoon, they will cover you until you can get these filled. As for the pain meds, according to your nurse, all you've taken is Tylenol, so I've given you some pain meds, but if Tylenol works, then take it as needed, just don't take too much."

Rick smiled, surprised at the sudden release, but couldn't resist signing the paper and handing it back to Scott, "thank you. I can go now? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You're discharged. You're healthy. I could see if you had other medical issues that would be concerning, but you don't, so yes, I'm sure. I told your nurse not to rush you guys, because I knew this would come as a shock, since I spoke of keeping you a few days, but I think you'll be more comfortable at home. As for you," Scott looked at Drew, "Jordan is aware you may be late to your shift and she asks you try to get back here by eleven. She doesn't know why, but I think she figured it out. I'm also letting you take the crutches home and when you get some of your own you can bring these back."

Initially, Drew had been happy to hear that Scott was discharging him and that his blood work was normal, but he figured he wouldn't be able to take Rick home, since he had to get to work, but with Jordan being okay with him being late, he was glad he could take him home.

"You have my number if you guys need anything and Drew can take the staples out in a month or so, or as the skin heals around them," Scott told them. "I'd be happy to check in with you guys, if you'd like, but somehow I think you guys are going to be just fine. Normally I wouldn't do this, but as I know Drew and his abilities, I trust you're in good hands," Scott said looking at Rick.

Rick nodded in agreement and smiled, "yeah, I definitely am."

...

Drew had his keys on him, so while Terry and Gabby helped get Rick situated, Drew went down to move his Jeep up to the main entrance and by the time he'd done that, Rick, his mom and sister were coming out of the main entrance with a nurse pushing Rick in a wheelchair. He wasn't thrilled with it and as Drew got out, he took the crutches from Terry and opened the door. The nurse moved the wheelchair close to the door and Rick stood up without the breaks even being on and rolled his eyes at his fiancé, before getting into the Jeep and settling into the passenger seat.

Knowing why he was rolling his eyes, Drew smirked as he closed the door and moved to put Rick's bag and crutches into the back end, where Drew thanked the nurse, who went back inside. After briefly talking to Gabby and Terry, the two Lincolns climbed into the backseat of his black four-door Jeep and Drew drove them over to where they were parked. Climbing out, the two got into their rental car and then the women followed Drew and Rick, since they didn't know where they were going.

While his sister and mom were in the SUV, Rick silently looked around at the new car he'd never been in before and once they were gone, he glanced at his fiancé, "nice car. Seeing pictures isn't the same as the real thing," Rick admitted with a smile.

"Thanks," Drew smiled, remembering emailing him some pictures of it when he got it, during Rick's most recent deployment, "I figured since I was actually making money, I could spring it on something I could use."

"It was worth it," Rick agreed, "and you deserve it."

Drew smiled his thanks and the two fell into a calming silence, both glad Rick was out of the hospital and ready to get back to their life together. Knowing they were getting close to his place, Drew glanced at Rick, "so, I haven't been to the store in a few days, but you should be good for the night. I wouldn't go drinking any alcohol while you're on pain meds and I can go in the morning and get your prescriptions."

"Sounds good to me," Rick replied, "we'll be fine. Mom and Gabby have a car, so they can always go to town to get something," he assured him, "sucks my first time visiting you at work turned out this way."

Drew smirked, "you can make it up to me later."

Rick reached over and ran his hand though Drew's short hair and gently massaged his scalp lovingly, but Drew flinched and hissed a little when he hit a certain spot, so Rick pulled back quickly in concern, "what's wrong?"

"You're not the only one who was in an accident," Drew admitted, rubbing his head and remembering the accident he'd been in.

"What? When?" Rick gasped, reaching up to feel his head, finding the scar, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh that would have been a great email, '_Hey, Rick. I miss you like crazy. During our night maneuvers the Jeep I was in swerved to miss a cow in the road and it flipped. We all got hurt. One of my guys had to staple my head closed until I could get to the hospital to have Krista and Paul stitch it up. Don't worry. I'm fine. How's your day?'_" Drew shook his head, "I wasn't going to make you worry about me here when I was fine."

"I still did. If I went more than a few days hearing from you, I worried. Still will," Rick rested his hand on Drew's shoulder, "you work in the blood and guts of the ER. Hard telling what could come in there and haven't you said that you guys sometimes go out, if it's a serious injury?"

"Yeah, we do," Drew nodded, glancing at Rick as he turned onto a side street close to where he lives, "I'm always careful."

"I know and I do worry about you, but I'm more worried about all the crazies out there that you have to deal with," Rick admitted.

"You're always with me," Drew promised, motioning to his keys, where a single 'R' charm hung from one of the rings attached to them, "and now I have this," Drew lifted his hand from the wheel briefly, showing the ring, "so trust me, you've got my back."

Rick smirked and rubbed Drew's shoulder gently, winking at him, "and your front, and everyplace in between."

Drew couldn't help laughing lightly as he looked at Rick, "oh yeah? You may have to explain that later."

"I can do one better," Rick smiled, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Drew's cheek, "I can show you."

Doing his best to keep his focus on driving, Drew gasped and felt his whole body reacting to Rick's words, "don't tease. You know I have to go back to work in a few hours."

"Yeah, I know. Who says I'm teasing? I'm just showing you what to expect when you get home," Rick assured him, "fourteen months is a _very_ long time to be apart."

"So true," Drew agreed, taking a deep breath as he pulled onto his street.

As they reached Drew's driveway, both guys noticed the car parked in it, "uh, why is there a car from New Mexico parked in your driveway?" Rick wondered.

Drew pulled in behind the car, "I have no clue, but I think I know who it belongs to."

"Who?" Rick asked, unbuckling his belt.

"My mom," he murmured, climbing out of the SUV and moving to get Rick's bag and crutches.

By the time Drew reached Rick, he was already out of the car and leaning against the closed door, "did you call her?" Rick asked, taking the offered crutches and settled them under his arms.

"No, and I haven't said anything online and no one knows my family from the hospital, so I have no idea how anyone would have figured it out," he told him as Gabby and Terry walked up from where they parked their car along the street.

"Guess we'll find out," Rick replied moving forward, towards the front door.

Checking the knob and finding it unlocked, Drew sighed and pushed the door open, his eyes darting around for his mom, "mom, are you here?" Drew called out.

At his voice, the older Alister woman walked out of the kitchen and saw her son, Rick, Gabby and Terry, "sweetheart, you're home! I thought you would be at work," she admitted, her eyes landing on Rick, "and Rick, I'm so glad to finally meet you!" She exclaimed, stepping forward and giving him a hug.

Rick couldn't really return the hug with his hands on the crutches, but he nervously leaned into it, "uh, you, too, Mrs. Alister."

"Oh, please, call me Wendy. I think you've got enough of a relationship with my son to call his parents by their first names," she admitted, "Terry, Gabby, so nice to finally meet you two in person," Wendy admitted, briefly giving the two a hug.

Drew and Rick exchanged extremely confused glances as the three women, who they thought had no clue who each other were, acted like they'd known each other for years.

"Why do I feel like they're conspiring against us?" Rick asked, looking at his fiancé, "did you know about this?"

"No!" Drew shook his head, "I haven't talked to my mom in over a week."

Rick shifted towards Drew, "then how do they know each other?"

"Oh relax," Terry laughed, "I called her. We've been friends on Facebook for a while."

"How did you figure out who you guys were?" Rick asked.

Wendy smirked, "well, I know you don't use Facebook too often, but 'Rick Lincoln' likes a lot of photos of you, Drew. Usually you only respond to comments from Rick and you're friends with quite a few Lincolns, so I put two and two together to figure out he's your boyfriend," she explained, "I figured out who his mom was and we've been in contact a while."

"Okay," Drew commented, leaning against the back of his couch and dropped Rick's bag next to him, "when did you plan on telling us? I mean, you're our family and no one except a few people knew I was gay until the other day, so don't you think you could have mentioned that you talked with his mom?"

"Oh yes, because that subject always goes over so well with you. Every time I try to bring up your relationship or sexuality, you change the subject," Wendy replied, eyeing him, "which I do understand, so Terry and I figured the best way to tell you guys would be while we could both be here in person. We didn't expect it would be so soon after your return from deployment, Rick, but here we are. I'm so glad you're doing better, Rick," Wendy turned to Drew, "now are you going to give me a hug or are you just going to stand there?"

Drew moved forward and gave his mom a tight hug, "hey mom."

As the two pulled apart, she looked him over, dressed in the dark blue scrubs, "you look so handsome. This is the first time I've seen you in scrubs," she admitted, smiling proudly, "my son, the doctor!"

"Yeah," Drew's cheeks flushed and decided it was a good time to tell her, "mom, Rick's not just my boyfriend anymore," Drew commented, glancing at Rick and then smiling at his mom as he lifted his left hand, "he's my fiancé."

Wendy gasped, as a bright smile grew on her lips, "oh, sweetheart, that's wonderful news!" She replied, hugging her son again and then giving a hug to Rick, "congratulations!"

"Thank you," Rick smiled, glad she was okay with the news. As much as he wanted to continue to talk, he needed to lay down and get some pain meds in his system, "sorry, to drop the news and go, but I've gotta get my leg propped up," he explained, glancing at Drew, "can you get me some Tylenol?" He asked, as he excused himself from the group and moved towards the bedroom.

"Of course," Drew nodded, letting Rick get a head-start, before turning to the women, "please, feel free to make yourself at home. There's water and some drinks in the fridge. There isn't much for food, but I know there's some popcorn in the cupboard," he added, motioning around, before moving to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and then heading to the bathroom to get the Tylenol before finally joining Rick in the bedroom and closing the door.

"Closing the door?" Rick raised a curious eyebrow from where he was laying on the bed, already more comfortable than when he'd been at the hospital, "you sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't know," Drew admitted, setting the items in his hand down on the bedside table, then stood next to the bed, his eyes glancing at the clock that read '8:15pm', "honestly, don't care at the moment," he tugged at his scrub top until it came off over his head, his white undershirt coming with it, so he carefully laid them over the chair in his room, and kicked his shoes off.

Rick blinked in surprise at what Drew was doing so suddenly, but the moment his shirts came off, exposing his bare chest and toned abs, all thoughts Rick had vanished in his mind, "don't go starting something you can't finish, buddy," Rick murmured, his body quickly sparking in interest.

"Buddy? Seriously?" Drew smirked and crawled over him carefully and laid on his side next to him, "I hope we're more than just 'buddies'," he added, resting his hand on Rick's cheek.

"Of course we are," Rick grinned, leaning into his touch and shifted closer, also rolling to his side to face him and slid his arm around Drew's back, "a lot more."

"Damn right," Drew grinned, pressing a kiss to Rick's lips.

Rick continued the kiss, shifting even closer and letting his hand gently explore Drew's back, his soft skin and his warmth bringing Rick home, more than being there could. He only wished he didn't have to pull away from the kiss, but the ache in his leg snapped him out of the moment and pulled him into reality, "don't go anywhere," he murmured.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Drew replied, taking a deep breath and calming his senses as he felt more like himself than he had in a long time.

Sitting up, Rick took some Tylenol with the cold water and then tugged off his shirt, though it was technically Drew's, but since they wore the same size, it didn't matter who it belonged to, and tossed the item to the dirty clothes basket. Quickly returning to where he'd been, he replaced his arm around Drew's back and pulled him closer, "now, where were we?"

Drew slid his arm around Rick and leaned in, kissing him, "I think you were showing me what you were talking about in the car," he murmured.

Rick nodded and smiled, "I definitely think we should do more of that."

"Oh yeah?" Drew grinned, pressing a kiss on Rick's shoulder, "me, too."

...

The guys knew they weren't home alone, so they didn't take anything too far, even though they really wanted to. Instead, they agreed they'd have plenty of free time together in the future to do more, and they really didn't want to rush anything or be interrupted, so they just enjoyed feeling comfortable and safe together; something they truly missed.

Spending some time just being lazy together, the guys calmed down and after a while, Drew got up and dug out an extra pillow from his closet and helped Rick prop up his leg, before returning to bed, laying on his side next to Rick. Resting his hand on Rick's chest, Drew let his fingertips gently brush over his skin, soaking in his warmth and the reality of finally having him home.

They'd been in the bedroom for almost an hour and Drew was keeping a close eye on the clock. It was a little after nine, and even though he was clear to get back to work by eleven, he didn't think he should wait too long to get back, "I should probably go back to the hospital in the next hour."

Rick nodded, "I figured you'd need to get going soon. We can continue later," he promised.

"That's my thoughts, too," Drew agreed, kissing him.

Just as Rick deepened the kiss, one hand coming to rest on Drew's cheek, the bedroom door opened without anyone knocking, "Rick, Drew, what are you... Oh crap! Sorry guys!" Gabby gasped, her cheeks flushing when she realized what she'd just interrupted and quickly closed her eyes.

"It's okay, Gabby," Rick replied, as he and Drew pulled apart, "at least this time it is. Next time knock," he added with a laugh.

Gabby opened one eye to see if they were decent and when she realized they both still had their pants on, she opened her other eye and calmed down a little, "will do. So sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Drew stood up and moved to where his shirts were and put them back on, before grabbing his shoes and sitting on the bed next to Rick to put them on.

"What's up?" Rick asked, sitting up a little more.

"Oh, uh, well, we were wondering when you were going back to work and they wanna go grocery shopping, so I was gonna see if you wanted me to hang here with you or go with them?" Gabby asked.

"Stay," Drew commented, turning to look at his fiancé, who was about to protest, "you just got home. You might be 'fine', but it wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of hands around here for a while."

"Fine," he sighed, "I love you, sis, but I don't need a babysitter."

Gabby laughed, "I never thought you did. My big brother just got home from being gone for like, ever, so I was hoping we could hang out."

"That could definitely be arranged," Rick agreed, standing up on the crutches and moving over to Drew's closet, "you mind if I borrow a shirt?"

Drew stood up and moved towards him, "nope. We wear the same size, go for it."

"But we have some different tastes," Rick replied with a laugh, reaching for a t-shirt, finding only a few shirts that weren't t-shirts.

"Well, not everyone dresses like they're going to the country club every day," Drew laughed, as Rick leaned against the wall and put the shirt on, "and you could ask for help."

Rick silently listened to him and managed to get it on without help, "why? I did it myself," he added, pushing off the wall on the crutches and moved towards the bedroom door.

"He's not stubborn or anything, is he?" Gabby laughed.

"I'd be the same way," Drew replied, following her and Rick out of the room.

The two moms were sitting in the living room and when they looked up, they easily could tell that Rick had a different shirt on, "shall we pick up some condoms when we go to the store?" Wendy asked.

"Oh, my God, mom!" Drew groaned.

"Well, it is a valid question. I'm not naïve enough to think that you two aren't sexually active," Wendy replied.

"I wouldn't say active," Rick muttered, knowing they'd decided to wait until they had more time alone, "but we'll get back to that soon."

Drew walked up behind his fiancé and put his arm around his neck, kissing his cheek, "we will."

Rick smiled and nodded, "definitely."

...

It wasn't that Drew wanted to leave, but he knew the more time he waited around to go back to work, the harder it would be to leave, so he reluctantly left at the same time their moms headed to the store. He knew Rick was doing okay, Gabby was hanging out with him and Drew knew he'd be with Rick soon, so he settled to look forward to finishing his shift and getting home to his fiancé while he drove back to the hospital.

As Drew walked into the ER, he looked around and could see it was quiet. Surprisingly there was no one in the waiting area, so he moved towards the room he could see Jordan was in and nodded at her, "hey, need any help?"

"Drew, you're back! I thought you'd be a few more hours," she admitted, "I'm good in here. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, things are great. Thanks for letting me take a few hours," he smiled.

"No problem. I figured out why Scott told me. I'm glad to hear things are going well," she told him.

"Me, too," Drew replied, just as he noticed paramedics bringing in a patient, so he stepped up to get to work.

...

**Friday**

For the next few hours, Drew and the rest of the ER staff took care of patients as they came in; a few minor traumas and some the with the usual 'cold and flu' symptoms. With the slower pace, everyone was able to keep up with charts and other important paperwork details, so they didn't get behind, just in case something major happened.

It was finally around three-am when Drew took a break to get some coffee and Krista found him sitting outside by the food trucks, "hey, Drew, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. How's your night?" He asked, sipping the iced coffee; it was a warm night and he wasn't up for anything hot to drink.

"The same," she admitted, "did Rick get settled at your place?" She wondered, already knowing Rick had been discharged; she'd sent Drew a text message when he wasn't there to start their shift, before anyone else began to wonder where he was.

"Yeah," Drew smiled, "he did... And when we got home, we found my mom was there."

"What?" Krista gasped, "how did she take everything?"

"Really well," Drew admitted, "she's known about me being gay for a while, so you and TC weren't the first people to know, but no one else in my family knows," he explained, "I'd never actually told her who I was dating, but she figured it out and became friends with Rick's mom on Facebook, so when Terry told my mom about what happened, my mom drove down here from New Mexico to meet us, so they could tell us in person that they knew each other."

"Oh wow! That must have been awkward," Krista replied.

"Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad, more confusing," he admitted, "but once they explained, it made sense. She was glad to finally meet Rick and when I told her were engaged, she was happy for us."

"I'm glad you have your mom's support, and Rick's mom and sister's," Krista smiled.

"Me, too. I just hope they realize that Rick and I want some privacy, at times. Don't get me wrong, we love them, and we appreciate they're here, but he just got home. We just came out. I want some time with my boyf... fiancé," he blushed, still not completely used to calling him his fiancé.

"I'm sure they will," Krista assured him, patting his hand, "his mom and sister are probably as excited as you are to have him home and if your mom just met him, I'm sure she'd like to get to know him. Give them some time."

Drew nodded in agreement as they stood up and began to head back into the ER, since their break was almost over, "yeah, I know. I just hope they're not driving him crazy."

...

Surprisingly the rest of the shift went smoother than expected; no major traumatic accidents came up, so they saw their usual patients, sick, minor or random accidents, along with some of the weirdos and drunks.

When seven-am rolled around, Drew was happy that he had been able to keep his charts caught-up during the shift, so he was able to get off on time, something that wouldn't always happen, but he'd take a 'win' where he could.

Without even changing, Drew gathered up his stuff and headed out of the hospital, into the early San Antonio morning. He had a stop to make before he could get home, so he headed to the place where he and Rick usually got their prescriptions and waited around for his antibiotics and pain meds to be filled, glad the place also had medical supplies, so he was able to get crutches with the other prescription Scott had written and some wound care supplies. No one questioned what he was doing, since he was dressed in scrubs and had a 'Doctor' badge on from San Antonio Memorial Hospital.

While he as getting things, he had sent a text to Rick, but hadn't heard anything back. He figured Rick was asleep, so he wasn't too concerned and after almost an hour, he had everything he needed and was on his way home. When he arrived, he found his mom's car was parked along the street and Gabby and Terry's rental was in the driveway, so he parked behind it, gathered everything up and headed inside.

As he opened the front door, he could hear things going on in the kitchen and glanced around, curious if Rick was up, "morning!" He called out, dropping his bag and purchases by the couch and closed the door.

"Morning, sweetheart!" Wendy called from the kitchen.

Drew could easily smell breakfast cooking and smiled, moving towards the room he hardly used when he was alone and found Gabby, Terry and Wendy moving around the kitchen, "smells good," he smiled, "not something that happens around here often," he admitted, seeing them working on a few things at the stove.

"Well, we thought we'd have breakfast together. I didn't know if you liked to go to bed right as soon as you got home, but you can eat and then go to bed if you'd like," Wendy admitted.

"That sounds good," Drew smiled, "where's Rick?"

"Bed," Terry replied, "he said he didn't sleep well during the night, so would join us for breakfast and then go to sleep when you did."

Drew nodded, unable to resist smiling happily to hear he'd get a chance to actually sleep with Rick for the first time in months. Without saying anything, Drew moved down the hallway to their room and pushed the door open quietly, seeing Rick stretched out on his side, back to the door, his head on a pillow and one of his hands resting on the side of the bed where Drew would be sleeping, the comforter folded up at the end of the bed with only a sheet covering him from the waist down. Kicking off his shoes and emptying his pockets, Drew stripped down to his briefs and grabbed a pair of sweats from his dresser, in case they got interrupted again and put them on quickly. Tossing on a sleeveless shirt, Drew moved to the bed, pulled the sheet back and while gently lifting Rick's arm, he slid in next to him.

At the movement, Rick stirred from the light sleep he'd been in and smiled when he saw Drew laying down, but decided to tease him a bit, "better be careful. My fiancé will be home soon and I don't think he'd be very happy if he found me in bed with some strange guy," he murmured, letting his eyes remain closed.

"Oh is that right?" Drew smirked, playing along briefly, and turned to nudge Rick onto his back and pushed himself up a little to hover over him, "then we should be quick," he winked, straddling his hips and leaning over to press a kiss to his lips.

Rick sat up a little and continued Drew's kiss, wrapping his arms around Drew's body, "quick is the last thing I want to be, babe," Rick admitted, not wanting to joke with him anymore and turned them so Drew took the hint and laid on his back. Once he got settled, Rick moved the rest of the way until he was straddling Drew's hips, being careful with his leg.

"Good morning," Drew smiled, reaching up to run his hands along Rick's sides.

"Morning," he murmured, "I'm so glad you're home."

"I could tell," Drew winked, feeling both of them reacting to being so close, "I love that I can come home to you."

"I love that, too," Rick agreed, then eyed him, "but you left me in the estrogen ocean last night!"

Drew laughed, "what?"

"Oh my God!" Rick sighed, moving off Drew to lay next to him, "our moms have practically planned out our entire wedding," he admitted, rolling to his side as Drew raised a curious eyebrow, "I'm serious! I put a stop to it when they started talking about what our vows would be!" He draped an arm over Drew's chest and rested his chin on Drew's shoulder, "can't we just enjoy being engaged first before we do that?"

"Of course we can," Drew replied, shifting to hug his fiancé, "just take what they say and put it in the back of your mind. We _are_ going to plan _our_ wedding," Drew told him, "and as much as I'd love to stay here, breakfast smells really good and we can sleep afterward. How come you didn't sleep?" Drew asked, "your mom said you didn't get much."

"You're not the only one who has bad dreams," Rick replied, remembering how Drew had called him the day before, "and I was looking forward to this," he admitted, his hand now resting on Drew's chest.

Drew smiled and took his hand in his, "I have been, too. How's your leg?"

"It's alright. Sore, but it's not bad most of the time. I do get some stronger pain once and a while, though," Rick explained, reluctantly sitting up, "but I don't want to take the prescription ones, which I know you got filled this morning."

As he sat up, Drew reached out and rubbed Rick's back, "yeah, I did. It doesn't hurt to have them here, just in case, but I get what you're saying," he agreed, "I can't imagine the pain you're in, but I do know what had to happen, so I have a good idea how bad it could hurt. I just want you to be out of pain, so you should take them at times, but I'm not going to force you."

Rick turned around and looked at Drew, "if it's really bad, I'll take one, but I don't want to. If you weren't a doctor, I'd say 'you have no idea what the hell I'm feeling', but I believe you get it. Doesn't mean I won't snap at you at some point, though. Sorry in advance."

Drew sat up and crawled towards Rick, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and wrapped his arms around his fiancé from behind, "I'm not gonna lie, it's not gonna be easy and I expect you to get pissed. We may argue and you may have tough times, but I'm here. I'm not going anywhere and you will always be the man I fell in love with. Nothing can change that," he assured him.

Leaning back against Drew's chest, Rick smiled happily, "I love you. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. That's what partners are for and I love you, too, just promise me a few things," Drew asked softly, some things having been on his mind since all this happened.

"I'll try. What are they?" Rick asked.

"No matter how pissed we get at each other, we take some time to cool off and make up," Drew admitted and when Rick nodded, he continued, "another hope is no physical fighting in anger. We're both trained to fight and we've trained together, but there is nothing that could happen or be said that would warrant either of us to hurt each other just because we're pissed," Drew bit his lip at the last concern he had that he wanted to get off his chest, "and no threats of leaving or breaking up. You're the love of my life and I'm not letting go, ever."

Rick listened to Drew's concerns and while he was surprised they were coming up, he wouldn't deny they hadn't been on his mind, too, "I will _never_ hit you in anger," Rick promised, turning to look at his fiancé, "and I'm right where I want to be. I'm with you. I'm not letting go and no matter how pissed I get, how upset or frustrated I get, I will always love you, Drew. I'm not leaving and I _know_ I would _never_ joke about something like that." Resting his hand on Drew's cheek, Rick smiled, "couples argue. It's normal, but we'll make up, I promise."

Drew smiled at him and leaned into his touch, relieved he didn't get upset for bringing his concerns up and decided to let it settle, "I promise you the same things."

...

Breakfast was enjoyable. Rick was happy to finally have a home cooked meal. Since getting home, he'd been in the hospital and while the food there had been slightly better than the food he had while deployed, a true home cooked meal was even better, especially surrounded by his mom, sister, his fiancé and soon-to-be mother-in-law.

Rick was thankful their moms didn't bring up their conversation from the night before and since the three women had slept during the night, they were going to go do some sightseeing in San Antonio while the guys were sleeping, and Drew suggested a few places he knew of that weren't 'tourist traps', but still showed the history of San Antonio.

When breakfast was finally over and the leftover food was put away, they all pitched in to do the dishes, Rick having to relearn where Drew kept things, because it had been so long since he'd spent time in Drew's kitchen, and soon the three women were getting ready to go.

"Are you sure you guys are okay?" Terry asked, looking at them, "we don't have to go, but we don't want to make noise while you're sleeping."

"We'll be fine," Drew assured them, "go enjoy the day. Looks like it's going to be nice. Thank you for being here, but you don't have to be here all the time."

Rick nodded in agreement and after a moment the two moms and Rick's sister were hugging the guys and heading out to go spend the day in town.

Once the door was shut, Drew and Rick watched until Wendy's car pulled away and they were sure they were gone, before they said anything, "how long are they going to be gone, do you think?" Rick wondered.

Drew walked to lock the door, leaning back against it and smiled at his fiancé, "hopefully a while, because we have _plans_."

...

A/N4: I hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think! To those of you who are reviewing as anons, a big thank you for all your wonderful messages! I wish I could reply to you all! To those of you signing reviews, I will reply as soon as I can! Thank you all so much for the love for this story and my writing! I'm really glad you're enjoying it and I hope you continue to! I have many things planed for Drew and Rick!

A/N5: In case you're curious, yes, I will be covering the events of the last two episodes of the season, but it will be from Drew's point-of-view, so I hope that's okay!

A/N6: The last few weeks have been pretty hectic, so my writing has been cut extra short. I still have quite a bit written, so I decided in the little free time I have had, I'd edit this chapter, instead of writing more, for now, but I'll get back to writing soon. Again, thank you all for the love and support! It really means the world to me!

...


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Stronger Together, Chapter 4/?

Spoilers: Up to 1x08 ~ Save Me; AU afterward

**Warning1:** This story involves a character with a leg amputation.

**Warning2:** This story is male/male fiction. Don't read if you don't like!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Night Shift, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

Underlined text: quotes from episode '1x06 - Coming Home' - I don't own. Just borrowing for this work of fiction.

...

**Friday Night**

Drew was happy when he walked into the ER for his last shift before a weekend off. He'd had an amazing afternoon with his fiancé, but he couldn't pick which part made it the best. He just knew it finally felt like Rick was home and even with the major change in their life, he was confident they'd face it together.

It was about thirty minutes before his shift started, so he headed into the doctor's locker room and grabbed a clean pair of scrubs, finding Jordan and Paul in there, dressed for their shift and digging in their lockers.

"Hey, everyone," Drew greeted casually, sipping on his thermos of coffee he'd made before he left home, as he tugged open his locker.

"Hey, Drew! How are you? How's Rick?" Jordan asked.

"I'm alright. Rick's doing really well, all things considered," Drew smiled, "thanks for asking."

"No problem," Jordan smiled, "I haven't had a lot of time to talk to you one-on-one, but I'd like to sometime, if that would be alright."

"Uh, should I be worried?" Drew asked, stuffing his backpack into his locker.

"Oh, no," she shook her head, "nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to you. We are still friends."

"Very true," Drew smiled, "and yeah, we haven't talked too much recently. I figured you were still pissed at me for hurting my hand during that fight."

Jordan laughed and shook her head, "I was pissed, but you've healed," she replied, "so I'm over it... You have healed, right?"

"I have," Drew held up the hand he'd hurt and made a fist and moved his wrist around, "see."

"Good to know," she smiled, grabbing her stethoscope and badge, "you still training?"

Drew was silent for a long moment, "we'll see."

"You seemed pretty sure you'd keep that up, because it was a good form of mental therapy, what changed your..." She paused, "oh!"

"Uh, I don't get it. Sorry, I don't mean to be eavesdropping, but I couldn't help, since I'm standing right here," Paul motioned to where his locker was, in relation to Jordan and Drew's.

Drew took his shirt off and left his undershirt on and slipped into his scrub top, "don't worry about it, Paul," Drew replied, grabbing his badge from his bag, "I got hurt after my last fight, so I decided I would continue training, but not get into any other fights," Drew explained, looking for his stethoscope.

"Why? If you're not going to fight, then why train?" Paul asked.

"I'm still in the military, so I have to keep in shape, but training keeps me grounded, in a way, and it's good to connect with other guys who have been through similar things, so we can relate," Drew told him.

Paul nodded in understanding, "okay, that makes sense, so I'm with Jordan, what changed?"

Drew kicked off his shoes, "whenever Rick's home, we train together. He's home, so it doesn't feel right to train without him. I haven't figured anything out or talked to him about it, but for now, training is the last thing on my mind."

"Which is completely understandable," Jordan replied, "if either of you ever need anything, let me know, okay? I'll try to help."

"Thanks," Drew smiled, "we appreciate that."

...

Krista arrived just as Drew finished getting ready for his shift and she definitely seemed to be in a rush, "where's the fire?" Drew wondered curiously.

With a groan, she sighed, "I was in a hurry to get here," she replied, opening her locker and stuffing her bag into it, "my friend from school called and we got talking. Next thing I know it's six-thirty and I had nothing done. I just barely had time to brush my hair," she ran her hand through her hair and looked down at her clothes, "at least I remembered to put clothes on."

Drew laughed lightly and headed for the door, "yeah, good thing."

"You don't have to leave," she reached out and touched his arm, "how was _your_ day?" She asked with a grin.

Pausing, Drew leaned against the bank of lockers he was nearby and smiled, "it was really nice. Finally feels like Rick's home," he admitted. "Our moms and his sister went out after breakfast, so we had the day alone."

"Alone, huh?" She asked, changing into a clean scrub top, grinning, "just how _nice_ was it?"

Drew eyed her and shook his head. Pushing off the lockers, he moved towards the door, "not going there, Krista, not going there."

"What? Come on, I won't ask details, but I'd at least like to know if things between you two are good," she replied before he got too far away.

"Rick and I are great," Drew assured her with a smile.

Krista smiled and nodded, "good."

...

**Saturday, July 26, 2014**

The shift began as usual, but it didn't get too hectic until after midnight, making Saturday morning extra busy. There were two car accidents that came in, on top of the other patients and an emergency came up that sent Topher and TC into the field, leaving Jordan and Drew as the senior doctors in the ER; Jordan an attending and Drew being a second year resident.

Drew had finished his coffee hours prior and he could easily feel the caffeine wearing off, but he'd been so busy, he hadn't had a chance to get a refill. He also hadn't been able to really look at his phone since he'd started his shift. Usually at work, it wasn't often he shared messages with anyone so late at night, but he would try to get a few replied to that people had sent during the day, some from friends, Army buddies, or family, when they'd message him. Now that Rick was home, he hoped he could share texts with him, but he still hadn't figured out just how Rick would arrange his sleep schedule.

Finally, with a break from patients around five-forty-five-am, Drew grabbed his empty thermos and went outside to the food trucks to get some coffee, before taking a seat at an empty table, which is when he pulled out his phone. Going right into his messages, he smiled when he saw one from Rick. It was from an hour prior, so he opened it to read.

**Rick:** I'm sure you're busy, but I wanted to say 'hey' and let you know I'm thinking about you. Definitely missed being able to text you regularly. Love ya!

Drew smiled and quickly typed a reply.

**Drew:** Hey! I missed the same thing and you're always on my mind! :) Love ya, back! Can't wait to get home! Been a busy night.

As he sent the message, he slid his phone back into his pocket and settled into his chair, before feeling a hand on his shoulder. Turning to see Krista, he smiled, "hey."

"Hey, you look tired," she admitted.

"Maybe a little," he agreed, motioning to his coffee, "caffeine was wearing off," he replied, rubbing his face with his hands, "I think the week is finally catching up to me."

Krista reached over and rubbed his shoulder, "I know, but you've got two days off. Spend it with Rick and recharge."

Drew nodded and smiled, "yeah, that's the plan."

Looking over Drew's shoulder, Krista happened to notice Rick and his sister walking towards them, but when he held up his index finger to his lips, Krista took the hint to stay quiet, but she smiled as she sipped her coffee.

Coming up right behind Drew, Rick cleared his throat, "I thought you'd had a busy shift, yet I find you sitting around drinking coffee," Rick smirked.

Drew jumped up at the familiar voice and turned to face his fiancé, "Rick, what are you doing here?" He asked, his mind immediately going to an emergency, "is everything alright? Are you okay? Is your leg bothering you?"

"I'm fine," Rick quickly said, waving off his fiancé, "relax."

"So what are you doing here?" Drew asked curiously.

"Dr. De La Cruz called just after you left last night and asked me to stop in," Rick admitted, "she had wanted to talk before I was discharged, but since it happened earlier than expected, she didn't get a chance to. I figured I could come in before your shift was over and go home with you," he shrugged, "if that's alright."

"Yeah, that's totally fine," Drew nodded, eyeing him, "you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, _dad_," Rick rolled his eyes, smirking a little.

Gabby and Krista laughed at the two, especially when Drew shook his head and couldn't help a light blush grow on his cheeks, "hey, after everything that's gone on, forgive me for being a little overprotective," Drew replied, grabbing his thermos.

"I'll give you that one," Rick agreed, turning to his sister, "thanks for the ride, sis. You good getting back to our place?"

"Yeah, I remember where I'm going," Gabby nodded, "I don't mind sticking around if you want me to."

"Thanks, but it's cool. I'll come home with Drew," Rick replied, getting a nod from Drew in agreement.

Gabby nodded and after sharing a hug with Drew and Rick, and waving at Krista, she promised her brother she'd text him when she got back, and then left him with the two doctors.

"How are you doing, Rick?" Krista asked, as the three of them began to walk towards the entrance of the ER.

"As good as can be expected. It's nice to finally be home," he replied, keeping up with the two of them, "I'm still getting used to everything, though, but I'm glad I have upper body strength."

Krista nodded in understanding, "I can't imagine what you're going through, but I'm really glad you were here when it happened."

"Me, too. I don't think I could have gone through this if I had been deployed when it happened," Rick admitted, looking at Drew.

Drew swallowed nervously as they reached the nurse's station and shook his head, "I don't even want to think about that," he muttered, glancing around for Landry, and noticed Molly sitting at the desk.

Before Drew could say anything to her, she stood up and raised a curious eyebrow at him, "what? You just going to stand there or are you going to introduce the reason why you never called my niece?" She teased, seeing he was a little nervous to be standing near her.

Taking a deep breath, Drew looked at Rick, "Rick, this is Molly. Molly this is my fiancé Rick," Drew replied, glancing at her, "and I've apologized!"

"I know and I get it now. Like I said, I'm glad you quit hiding," Molly replied, turning to Rick, "it's nice to meet you. Glad to see you're up and about."

"You as well," Rick nodded at her, "and thanks. Sorry he kinda led you on."

Molly waved off his apology and shook her head, "don't worry about it."

Just as Drew was about to say something else, Landry walked up to them, "Captain Lincoln, nice to see you again."

"You can call me Rick," he replied nodding at her, "and nice to see you, too."

The woman smiled, "okay, Rick. Are you ready? Do you want Drew to join us?" She asked, looking between the two men.

"Anything I say, I'll say in front of him, so if he can get away, great, if not, he doesn't have to," Rick replied.

Before anyone could answer, an ambulance pulled up outside. The other doctors were tied up with patients, so Drew looked at Rick, "I'd love to, but I'm still working. We'll talk later, okay?"

Rick nodded, "sounds good."

The paramedics wheeled in a patient, already spouting information about their condition and Drew, Krista and Molly jumped forward, since they were right there and began calling out stats as the gurney was taken into the nearest trauma room.

For a moment, Rick proudly watched Drew taking charge as a doctor, something he'd never seen before. Years prior, he'd seen him work as a Combat Medic, but never as a doctor, since he'd been deployed the entire time he'd been working at SAMH. When Landry asked him to walk with her, he pulled his eyes away and followed her down the hallway to a quiet exam room where they could talk.

"I'm glad to see you're already up on crutches," Landry started, as she closed the door behind him and motioned for him to take a seat in a chair by the door.

"I don't do well sitting around," Rick admitted.

The woman nodded, "most guys your age feel the same way," she replied, taking a seat across from him. "How are you doing?" She asked, "are you settling in well at your place?"

"I'm not at 'my' place. I had an apartment on the second story of a building with no elevator, so I'm at Drew's," he explained, "but it's kinda turned into our place. We're moving in together," he smiled. "Things are good. I mean, sure, it's taking some getting used to, but like I told them while I was here in the hospital, I've broken my leg in the past, so I've used crutches before. Getting dressed was weird with only one foot, though."

"How do you feel about yourself? When you were in the ER the other night, you seemed to feel like no one would see you the same way again. Do you still feel that way?" Landry wondered.

Rick took a deep breath and shrugged, "not really, but in a way, yeah. I can't help feeling like people are always looking at my missing leg and not always me. Then I start getting self-conscious. I know it's only been a few days and this is the first time I've really been out since Dr. Clemmens released me from the hospital, but I had that in the back of my mind while we were standing out in the ER," he motioned towards the nurses station where they'd been just prior.

"That's normal. Some amputees have become self-conscious and pull away from daily life because of it. I don't know you extremely well, but I don't think you'd do that," she admitted.

"I want my life back," he replied honestly, "I just have to deal with this first."

"Do you feel like you have to deal with this alone?" She asked, knowing Drew was supporting him, but saying it didn't always mean the person believed it.

"No," he shook his head, cracking a light smile, "I know Drew's got my back. I believe him when he says that. My mom and sister, too. Even his mom came down to help out. She's the only person of Drew's family who knows he's gay, but he never talked about me to her. She figured it out and she and my mom got to be friends online," he smirked. "We don't really need help, but we're glad they're here," he paused, taking a deep breath, "my unit," he sighed, "that's a tough one. I'm sure they will support me, but I don't think they'll be my soldiers anymore. It may be a while before I can go back, and even if I can, I don't know if I want to."

"Why wouldn't you? If you made a full recovery and were able to run and exercise and meet the military standards with a prosthetic, why wouldn't you go back?" She asked, curious about what he was getting at.

"I've done four tours already and this was going to be my last one for a while. I was hoping Drew and I could put some more focus on our relationship," Rick admitted.

Landry nodded in understanding, "so is this why you got engaged? Because of this, or was it something else?"

"When I left here fourteen months ago, we had a brief layover in London. That's when I got it. It was always my plan to propose to him the day I got home and that's why I asked him when I did. I knew he didn't know anything about it, but it, in a way, was my inspiration to get home, so I could give it to him," Rick smiled at the thought, "so it's not just because of what happened, but now I'm wondering if subconsciously I knew something would happen, even if I didn't really know," he paused, rubbing his neck nervously, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she replied with a smile.

"Do you believe that things happen for a reason and God has a plan for all of us, even if we don't know what it is?" Rick asked, "sorry, I know that's a religious question, and I'm not super religious, but I do believe in God."

"It's okay," she smiled, "I know what you're getting at and I do believe in fate. May I ask what you mean specifically?"

"I've had a thought that maybe this was the plan all the along. Like, it was a sign that I needed to look at my life again and see just what I want out of it and not just let the military control me," he admitted.

"I see. Have you thought about what you'd like?" She wondered.

Rick smiled, "Drew and I decided we want to have kids," he told her, "I've been active duty since I joined the military, but he's been reserves since he went to medical school. Once he's done with his residency, he's got at least ten years in the Army and he may join the Rangers; he's on the fence with that still, but now I'm thinking maybe it's time for me to get out of the Army and be a military spouse for a while. The military recognizes same-sex marriages now, so I know there wouldn't be any problem with me going with Drew if he ended up being based out of another place, but that's still a ways off and I know we have a lot to talk and think about, but it's on my mind."

"It's very possible that this is a sign," she agreed. "For what, I'm not sure, but what I have seen is that what happened gave you both a reason to come out and be public about your relationship. I can imagine you both had reservations about that and now that it's out in the open, more paths are available to you both now that you're public," she paused, "I also think that you and Drew would make great parents. You both have a very warm and caring spirit and I see the connection you have. I figured it out way before you asked me if I knew what was going on, when you were down in the ER. You guys didn't even have to touch for me to know."

"Really?" Rick smiled, "we have that?" He was silent for a moment and looked at her, "maybe that's the reason why every time I see him, I just feel like nothing else matters."

"I can definitely tell you're in true love and you're finally home with your other half. You're not separated by thousands of miles and limited contact," she told him, "so that could definitely be a reason," she agreed, smiling.

...

Rick and Landry continued to talk until just before seven. She was happy to see things were going so well, thus far, and offered to be an extra set of ears if he or Drew ever wanted to talk or needed help dealing with something that was upsetting them. Rick thanked her for the offer and soon the two were leaving the room and returning to the nurse's station. Drew was standing at it writing in a chart and looked up when Rick appeared in his peripheral vision, "hey. I'm almost done with my patient. You good?"

"Yep. No cobwebs," Rick laughed, "take your time. I'm cool waiting. You're worth it."

Drew smiled, continuing to write in the chart, "hey, Kenny, have I gotten the lab results on my patient yet?" He asked, flipping through the various papers in the chart.

"Uh," Kenny got up and moved to look in the fax machine and found them sitting on it, "Looks like they just got here," Kenny replied, handing them over, "hey, Rick. How you doing, man?" He asked, holding out his hand.

Rick reached out and shook Kenny's hand, "doing alright."

"I'm glad to see you up and around on crutches," Kenny replied.

"Thanks and it's nice to see you guys when I'm not the patient," Rick replied.

"Tell me about it," Drew muttered, his eyes still on the paperwork in front of him, "I could do without that happening again."

"Agreed," Rick nodded as the phone rang next to them.

Kenny reached to grab it, "San Antonio Memorial Hospital, Emergency Department," he started, "got it... two hikers? Okay... Is the chopper on the way? Do you know the status of either of them?" Kenny listened to the caller, "alright, I'll find docs to be ready when the chopper gets here," Kenny hung up the phone and looked at Drew, "you up for a field-trip?" He asked, looking into the exam room Jordan was in, "Jordan! Chopper's on the way. We need doctors. There's two hikers hurt up in Government Canyon Park."

"I got it! Can I take Drew?" TC called out from another room.

"Shift's almost over, so that's gonna be up to him. Just don't take forever, I don't know how much overtime Ragosa is gonna be open to covering," Jordan replied, walking up to the nurse's station.

"I wasn't asking you," TC commented, taking the med-kit that Kenny handed him with a Med-Evac jacket, "I was asking Rick," TC added, looking at the taller soldier.

"Me? I don't mind," Rick shrugged, "though I think it's up to him, not me."

Drew had looked at Kenny, Jordan, TC and Rick, each time trying to say something about going, but they all started talking before he could. When Rick looked at him, he finally smirked, "I'll go, as long as you don't mind hanging out here until I get back."

"I can take you home," Kenny replied, "no need for you to be stuck around here for a while."

"Okay. Thanks, Kenny," Rick replied, nodding at his fiancé as the propeller noise began to get louder as it got closer to the hospital.

Drew nodded and took the second Med-Evac jacket Kenny was holding out, "thanks," he nodded, then closed the chart he'd been looking at and handed it to Jordan, "can you take care of this patient for me?" He asked and at her nod, he slipped his arms into the jacket and looked at his fiancé, "I'll see you at home in a few hours."

"See ya then," Rick nodded, "be careful."

With a smile, Drew nodded and began to step away from the counter, "always am."

TC was standing by the exit, waiting for Drew, but when he joined him, he smirked, "what? That's it?"

"What are you talking about?" Drew asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"All you're gonna do is say 'see ya later'? I may not have the best skills in the relationship department, as I'm sure Jordan and Topher can agree, but even I know what should have happened," TC commented and at Drew's continual look of confusion, the former Ranger put his hands on Drew's shoulders and guided him back towards Rick, "kiss your fiancé."

Rick had caught on to what TC was saying a lot sooner than Drew had, but was going to let Drew be the one to do what he was comfortable with; it was his coworkers he was around.

Drew's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, his eyes darting around the room to see more of his coworkers standing around, not really paying attention to them, but they were there. Realizing everyone already knew he was gay and that they were engaged, he quickly pushed aside his nerves and stepped up to Rick, "should have done this anyway," he admitted, leaning in to press a kiss to Rick's lips.

The soldier happily responded to the kiss, but didn't let it linger too long, hearing a few cat calls coming from various directions nearby, "it's okay. When you're ready," Rick replied softly.

"I'm ready," Drew confirmed as they pulled apart. The helicopter could be heard outside and Drew knew he had to go, "love you," he waved, before finally stepping away from Rick.

"You, too," Rick replied, seeing Drew nod, acknowledging he'd heard him, before continuing outside with TC.

Krista walked over to Rick and slid her arm around his, smiling at him, "you two are adorable."

"Not you, too," Rick groaned, "our moms and my sister say the same thing. You know how hard it is to hear 'you're adorable' when you just spent months in a sandpit carrying around sixty pounds of gear and getting shot at? I don't feel adorable."

"You're not over there now," Krista replied, "so get used to it. I know I found out a little randomly, but it's okay to show you care about each other. You don't have to avoid each other out in public."

Rick smirked and glanced at Krista, "maybe not, but we have only been public for a few days. It's gonna take some time to get used to the change. We're more used to avoiding each other or not wanting to draw attention to our relationship," he shrugged, "we know how we feel about each other, so we don't have to always show it. Besides, not everyone we know will be comfortable with it."

"If they're not, they're idiots," Krista commented, "love is love."

"Thanks," Rick smiled lightly, "I'm glad Drew has the support of his friends."

"That's what friends are for," Kenny replied, "I'm gonna go change. If you give me like five minutes, we can leave."

"Sounds good," Rick nodded, "take your time."

Kenny nodded and moved off to the nurse's locker room, leaving Krista, Landry and now Paul, standing with Rick, "so, you and Drew, huh? That's cool. I never would have figured it out, though. He's one hell of a fighter. Have you seen him..." As Paul said that, he quickly remembered the conversation he, Jordan and Drew had before their shift started, "oh, um... Sorry," Paul bit his lip, nervously rubbing his neck.

"Gee, Paul, what are you saying? A gay guy can't be an awesome MMA fighter?" Krista asked, a little pissed that Paul said that.

"No, I don't mean that, I just... Crap," Paul sighed, now even more nervous, "I've never known... I mean..."

Rick laughed lightly and could tell that Paul was nervous to talk to him. He knew a little about Paul from Drew's emails and had a feeling he knew what he was trying to say, "it's alright, Paul," Rick admitted, "we don't fit what most see as stereotypical gay guys and we never will. I'm not surprised you didn't figure it out, but being gay isn't the only thing that defines us. We're also normal guys, who are jocks, have hobbies and who are soldiers. We also happen to prefer men and love each other, too."

"Well said, Rick," Jordan commented, having walked up to drop some paperwork off by where Krista, Paul, Rick and Landry were standing, so she'd heard Paul stumbling around and what Rick said.

"Thanks," Rick smiled, "Jordan, right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you," she returned his smile and waved, "and welcome home."

Rick nodded and shifted a little, "you, too and thank you. I'm glad to be home," he then looked at Paul, "to answer your question, yes, I've seen him fight. Missed the last one, though. Heard he put his opponent in the ER here," he laughed, "I used to train with him, then I got deployed. Isn't he working with Kenny now?"

"He has been," Krista nodded, her cheeks flushing as she remembered what she'd done after the fight Rick was talking about.

Noticing Krista blushing, Rick immediately knew what caused her reaction, "no hard feelings," he told her honestly, "you didn't know."

"He told you?" She blushed even more, "of course he did... I'm glad you're cool with it, because I don't want you guys thinking I'm still, um... we're just friends, that's all."

"I know," Rick assured her, his phone ringing in his pocket, "excuse me," he muttered, leaning against the desk to pull his phone from his pocket, since he couldn't balance on the crutches and hold his phone. "Oh my God," he sighed, hitting the answer button, "hello mom... I'm fine... I'm still at the hospital... A little while. One of Drew's friends is gonna bring me home... No, Drew just had to fly out to an emergency, so I don't know when he's gonna be back... Okay... Talk to you later," he pulled the phone away and hung up, putting it back in his pocket, "this is going to get really old, really quick."

"What is?" Krista wondered, "is she checking up on you?"

"Yes. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom, but she's really gonna wear me out," he sighed, "and I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"It could be how she's coping with what happened to you," Landry offered, having sat down at the nurse's station to work on a few charts before she got off.

"I know that's why," Rick agreed, "I also think she hates to admit that I can take care of myself. This happened when I first joined the Army, too, and I just gave her time and she calmed down, but with Drew's mom here, too, it's like they're ganging up on us."

"Maybe you two should get away," Krista suggested, "tell your moms you're going away for the weekend and go somewhere."

"It's an option, but I think we're going to spend the weekend with them, in hopes that maybe they'll see we're doing okay and have things under control, so they could leave. They can come back later if things change, but for now, we're good," Rick explained.

"And you've got me and the rest of us around if you guys need anything," Krista added.

"Thanks," Rick smiled, just as Kenny joined them.

"Hey, man, you ready?" Kenny asked, walking up to him.

"Yep. I'll follow you," Rick replied, looking at the others, "see you guys later."

"Later, Rick. Don't be a stranger... as a visitor, not a patient," Landry smiled.

Rick smirked, "I'll try my best!"

...

Drew and TC reached the helipad just as the helicopter landed. Ducking to keep from getting caught in the continuously spinning propeller, the two doctors rushed forward as one of the medics inside opened the door and motioned for them to get in. Climbing inside, TC and Drew had just settled when the medic shut the door and immediately the pilot lifted off and headed for the accident site.

Putting on their headsets, so the noise of the motor didn't hurt their ears, and so they could talk, TC glanced at Drew, "been a while since we've gone out on a call together," he commented.

"Yeah, it has been. Usually you and Topher go out. I do like the change of scenery once and a while," Drew smirked, settling back in his seat.

"Sorry about inside," TC motioned back towards the hospital, "I probably shouldn't have pushed you to do that."

"It's okay," Drew waved off his apology, "we just haven't had many opportunities to be public in the past, for many reasons, so it's going to take some getting used to. Neither of us have been too interested in PDAs, but it's nice to know we could hold hands, hug or kiss each other in public and not worry about the wrong person seeing... Though, our marriage won't be recognized here in Texas, so we will still have that on our minds and won't want to draw too much attention to us."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that around us. We all support you guys," TC told him, "I'm happy to see you're happy. You two seem to fit well together."

Drew smiled, "thanks. We do fit well together. We have enough differences that we're not exactly the same. He's got his hobbies and I've got mine, but we enjoy a lot of the same things," Drew explained, seeing the medic and the pilot were not paying attention to what they were talking about, but even if they were, Drew finally didn't care who heard and wasn't worried about anyone in the Army finding out. He was happy, engaged to the man he loves with all of his heart and he wanted the whole world to know.

In the past, when Drew and TC had talked about Drew being gay, all he'd told him was that he had a boyfriend, Rick, who was in the Army and had been deployed for over a year, but he'd never gone into too much detail about their relationship. He'd opened up a little more with Krista, and now that he knew his coworkers supported them, he was a lot more comfortable talking about his and Rick's relationship.

"That's great!" TC smiled at Drew, "I bet you're glad to have him home, from deployment and the hospital."

"Oh yeah. I am. Our moms and his sister went out yesterday while we were getting some sleep. When we got up, we ended up on the couch, playing Call of Duty on XBox for hours. It was fun," Drew smiled, "we're already back to doing things like he never left, so yeah, I'm glad he's finally home."

TC patted Drew on the shoulder, "good. I'm glad you guys can get back to that. Not everyone who comes home can fall back into their usual routines without side-effects of being deployed and away from home for so long," TC admitted, "doesn't sound like Rick has that problem."

"Thus far he's doing well, but I know what you mean," Drew agreed, having been thinking the same thing. It wasn't the first deployment he'd gone through with Rick, and each time he'd returned home in the past, he didn't really have any lingering effects, other than some nightmares or a few flashbacks that came up once and a while, but never serious problems that effected his life, "I'm thankful he's not showing any signs of problems, but if he does, I'll be there for him."

"Rick's lucky to have you," TC told him as they came up on the accident site.

Drew smiled at TC, "thanks. I'm lucky to have him, too."

...

When Rick and Kenny reached his SUV, the two got in and Kenny put the crutches into the backseat, before getting into the driver's seat, "thanks for doing this, Kenny," Rick commented, as he buckled his belt.

"It's no problem. Drew's a good friend and I admit I'm still a little shocked, but I'm cool with you guys together. I didn't expect it, that's all," Kenny replied as he got ready and pulled out of the parking space.

"I'm sure it was a shock," Rick agreed, "sorry you had to find out that way."

"It's okay. You don't have anything to apologize for," Kenny waved off his words, "it's all good. I'm happy you guys are happy."

Rick smiled, "thanks."

...

During the short trip from the hospital to Drew and Rick's place, Kenny and Rick talked lightly about random things until they pulled up to the place. "Would you like to come in for coffee or something?" Rick asked, "least I could to do to say 'thanks'."

"Uh, sure, if you don't mind. Looks like you have company," Kenny nodded towards the car in the driveway and the one by the curb.

"It's our moms and my sister," Rick admitted, "you're welcome to join us."

"Okay, cool," Kenny nodded. He didn't have anywhere to go and even though he was still surprised that Drew had kept things a secret, as a friend, Kenny wanted to get to know the person Drew was seeing.

With Kenny's help to get his crutches, Rick got out of the SUV and Kenny followed him towards the front door. Rick pushed the door open and could hear the kitchen busy already, finding his sister on the couch, still dressed in the pajamas she'd had on when she took him to the hospital earlier in the morning, flannel pants and a t-shirt. She'd been staying with them, giving the moms a chance to stay at Rick's place.

After the initial introductions to his sister, Rick moved into the kitchen to find their moms were making breakfast again. He quickly introduced Kenny and the moms welcomed him and got both guys to sit down, giving them coffee and talking about their morning. They learned that Kenny was friends with Drew and had been one to help him train while Rick had been gone. Kenny also admitted he and Drew were two of the jokers around the hospital, which lead Kenny to telling them stories of some of the jokes or pranks they'd played on coworkers since Drew had been there.

...

It was after nine-am when the front door opened and Drew walked in. The emergency had been pretty hectic. One patient, a woman, had a dislocated shoulder, but her husband had pushed her out of the way from a rock slide and he got caught under some larger boulders. With the chest trauma he'd suffered, they needed doctors on site to take care of him, because they were having a hard time getting the boulders off and the movement was making things worse.

TC and Drew were able to stabilize the guy and give him some pain medication so they could remove the rocks pinning him down, which took longer than expected, so they didn't get back to the hospital until after eight-thirty. After everything, Drew showered and changed at work, before he finally was able to head home, surprised to see Kenny's car in the driveway; he'd messaged Rick to let him know when he was leaving the hospital, but Rick never said anything about Kenny still being there in his response.

Inside, Drew heard everyone in the kitchen and when he joined them, they were all sitting around the table, just getting breakfast served up. Drew quickly greeted them and sat down next to Rick to eat, happy to see they'd waited for him, though he wasn't expecting them to.

It was easy to see that Drew and Kenny were both feeling the effects of being up all night at work, so after breakfast, as much as Kenny didn't want to eat and run, he thanked them for breakfast and headed home.

Rick headed off to the bedroom to prop his leg up, while Drew walked Wendy, Terry and Gabby out. They were going shopping, because they knew the guys would be sleeping for a few hours and didn't want to wake them.

When Drew walked into the door of their room, he froze, concern building at what he saw.

The blankets had been pulled back and Rick was sitting on the bed, red faced, his hands in fists and was biting his lip, tears building in his eyes as he panted heavily and tried to take deep breaths.

"Oh, God, Rick, what's wrong?" Drew asked, rushing forward and dropping to his knees in front of him, "talk to me!" He begged, his hand reaching up to rest on Rick's cheek.

"I can't..." Rick choked out, unable to get anything else out.

"You can't what? Talk to me? Yes you can! I'm here," Drew assured him.

"I know that!" Rick bit out, a little harsher than he meant it, but his pain had been building for the last few hours and he had been doing his best to hide it from everyone. He definitely didn't want them to freak out, "not what I meant. I'm in pain!" He tried to take a deep breath and reluctantly let a few tears fall, "I didn't want them to see me this way!"

Drew reached over to the prescription bottle on the bed-side table and realized there were still a bunch of pills in it, so he wasn't taking them regularly, "when was the last time you took any of these?"

"I don't know, like yesterday," he hissed, "I don't want to take them!"

"Why?" Drew asked, "they'll help."

"I knew someone who got addicted to pain killers," Rick replied, for the first time truly admitting why he didn't want to take the heavy medication, "I swore if I ever had to take them, I'd fight my hardest not to."

Shifting to sit next to his fiancé, Drew wrapped his arms around him, "remember what I said in the ER when we first had a chance to be alone?"

"No," Rick admitted, only remembering he'd been in a drug haze from it.

"I said 'you gotta trust me' and 'I'm watching out for you'," Drew told him, "and I meant it. I'm not gonna let that happen."

Rick cracked a light smile at Drew's words and closed his eyes as he leaned into him, his own arms wrapping around Drew's body as he rested his head on his chest, "I'm scared," Rick choked out.

Drew gently rubbed Rick's back, fighting his own emotions, "I am, too," Drew agreed, leaning back a little to look at Rick, "how long have you been hiding the pain?" He asked, realizing he hadn't just started.

"Since I stopped taking the morphine at the hospital," he replied softly.

"Oh, Rick," Drew sighed, "I wish I had some other way of taking the pain away," he admitted honestly, "I know it's not what you want to hear, but the only way for it to go away right now is to take the pills," he murmured, "I feel so helpless."

Rick tightened his arms around Drew and shook his head, "don't. This is helping," he replied softly, "I just wish I wasn't in pain," he paused and looked at the bottle of pain meds that Drew had left sitting on the bed, picking it up in his hand. "Stay with me," he looked at Drew and at the confused look, Rick explained, "I won't take these without you around. I hate putting you in this position, but you're my rock, you always have been, but right now, even more."

Drew brushed his hand over Rick's cheek and smiled, "I'm right here and I always will be, Rick," Drew gently closed Rick's hand around the pill bottle and held his hand with his, "right here," he said again, "promise."

Taking a deep breath, Rick nodded and shifted a little, popping open the bottle, taking one pill out and holding it in his hand, "can you go get me some water?" He asked, reaching to set the bottle back on the nightstand.

"Of course," Drew nodded and got up, moving to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and returned moments later, handing it to his fiancé.

Rick took the bottle and cracked it open, "thanks," he whispered, eyeing the white pill in his hand, "I guess I'm gonna have to get over this. If I don't take them, it's gonna be harder to heal, huh?"

"Yeah. I hate that you have to take them, but it's gonna be hard to do anything if you're in pain. I can't believe you've been hiding the pain that long and never said anything," Drew admitted, taking his shirt off and tossing it to the dirty clothes basket, "then again, I know you, so I'm not surprised."

Setting the water down by his pills, Rick nodded, "yeah, I'm a little stubborn."

Drew kicked his shoes off and stepped towards Rick, "a little?" He eyed him curiously and winked, "okay, we'll stick with that, Captain Lincoln."

"Don't even start, Lieutenant. You're just as stubborn," Rick replied, reaching out to wrap his arms around Drew's waist to pull him closer, "and seriously? You have to take your shirt off now?" Rick cracked a smile and looked him over.

"I was thinking it might cheer you up," Drew admitted, resting his hands on Rick's cheeks.

"So tempting," Rick agreed, reaching up to rest his hand on Drew's solid chest, "but to be honest, I'd really love for you to just hold me. You don't know how many nights I went to sleep hoping I was in your arms."

Drew leaned down and pressed his forehead to Rick's, "I think I have a pretty good idea," he agreed, shifting away from him long enough to crawl up on the bed and stretch out, propping himself up on the pillows and holding his arms out for Rick, "I hoped the same thing."

Rick smiled and leaned over to get his shoe off. Ignoring that he still had his clothes on, he moved up and leaned back against Drew's chest and felt his strong arms wrap around him. "I love you, Drew."

Tightening his arms around him, Drew kissed Rick's cheek and smiled, "I love you, too, Rick, with all my heart."

...

Drew was the first to wake up a few hours later, seeing it was after two-pm. He and Rick hadn't moved since getting comfortable and just holding his fiancé in his arms gave him a peace he'd missed. Looking at Rick, Drew could also see he was relaxed and much less tense than he had been before they'd laid down.

The doctor part of him wondered if Rick should have stayed in the hospital a few more days, even though the fiancé side loved to have him home. He hated seeing Rick in pain and hoped him cracking earlier was the end of him hiding just how much pain he's in. Drew completely understood wanting to hide the pain from their family and knew the more he healed the less pain he'd be in, but until that happened, Drew hoped Rick would see that he didn't have to keep his pain from everyone, because they all knew he was in pain, if not physically, then emotionally.

"_Okay, Drew, relax. Rick's in pain, yes, but it will lessen soon and he's just dealing with all this and trying to stay strong for everyone else, too. Maybe he figures if he shows us how 'strong' he's being, everyone else can deal with it better. I'm just glad he cracked in front of me. Of all the people around, I would have expected him to hide it from me the most,_" Drew thought, watching the peaceful smile Rick had on his face as he continued to sleep. His chest evenly rose and fell as he calmly inhaled and exhaled and Drew was actually curious if he was dreaming, because he usually didn't see Rick smiling while he was sleeping.

Before Drew could even process what he was thinking, his phone began to ring and he quickly remembered it was in the pocket of the jeans he still had on, having not bothered to take them off before he and Rick laid down. Reluctantly moving one arm away from his hold on Rick, he dug out his phone and saw it was his mom. "Hey mom," he whispered, hoping he answered it quick enough that it didn't wake Rick.

"Hey, sweetheart. Why are you whispering?" She wondered.

"Because I just woke up and Rick's still asleep next to me," he replied softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," she replied.

"You didn't wake me up. I've been awake a few minutes. What's up?" He asked, wanting her to get to the point of her call.

"Oh! So we're at Rick's place and we were wondering if there was anything you wanted us to bring over. I'm assuming he'll need clothes, but anything else?"

Drew contemplated waking Rick up, but for a question like that, he decided against it, "Rick and I use most of the same stuff, but yeah, some clothes. We can talk to him later about more. I guess he and I should talk about how, when or if he wants to move all his stuff over here or what we're going to do," Drew admitted, feeling Rick stirring a little and shifting to lay more on his back than on his side like he had been.

"Okay, we'll bring some clothes over when we come in a little while," Wendy replied, "go back to sleep, sweetie."

"Talk to you later," Drew mumbled, ending the call and purposely leaning over Rick to put his phone on the nightstand by the clock, seeing Rick's eyes watching him, "hey, babe," he smiled.

"Nice view to wake up to," Rick returned his smile and reached up to rest his hand on Drew's cheek, "who was that?"

"My mom. They're at your place. Wanted to know if you wanted them to bring anything over. I told them some clothes for now," he told him, leaning in to press a kiss to Rick's lips, "how'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good, actually," Rick admitted, "leg's a little sore, but not near what it was."

Drew nodded, "we should change the dressing. You've been taking your antibiotics, right?"

"Yes, doc, I have been," Rick laughed, motioning to the second bottle of pills on the nightstand, "one pill twice a day for fourteen days."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you," Drew smiled, laying back against the pillows, turning his head to look at Rick who was sharing his pillow.

"I know, but it's not every day I can enjoy the fact that my fiancé is a doctor and I'm allowed to tease you a little," Rick winked, laughing lightly as he looked at Drew.

"Okay, I'll give you that one," Drew rolled onto his side and shifted closer to him, "but being serious, we should shower and get that dressing changed. It's been long enough that you can get your incision wet."

"_We_ should shower?" Rick raised a curious eyebrow at him, "really?"

"Yeah, I mean, someone should keep an eye on you and make sure you don't fall," Drew winked, "and maybe we could find something else to do while we're still alone."

...

**Up Next:** A little flashback to how Drew and Rick found out about each other and their first kisses... Yes, that's plural. Confused? It'll be explained next chapter! :)

A/N3: Hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know! Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! It really means so much! I'll respond to the ones I can soon and to those I can't, thank you and I appreciate them a lot! I'm so happy at the positive response my story has gotten and I look forward to continuing; I have a lot planned for Rick and Drew; I hope you all continue to enjoy this story as much as I do! Also sending a huge shout out to nightshiftfanficcommunity on Tumblr! They compile a list of the 'Top 5' Night Shift fics (by favorites) and this time 'Stronger Together' made it to the top position! Lots of love to all of you! I may have written it, but you readers are the ones who got it to the top, so a HUGE thank you for that! :D

A/N4: Since the show didn't give us anything about Rick in the last two episodes, except Kenny saying 'I'm glad he's feeling better' or something like that, I wanted to add a little more Kenny and TC into this, because of the staff at SAMH, Drew seems to be closest to Kenny, TC and now Krista.

A/N5: As I've mentioned before, bone pain is excruciating. It took months for my dad's residual limb to stop hurting completely. That's why I had Rick crack like he did. There's no way he could be just days after the amputation and be only taking Tylenol for pain. It may help, but would not take it away.

To my fans, friends and readers - thank you for your continued love and support! It really means a lot to me!

...

**Important Note:** As I post this, my mom is in the ICU. She had a stroke Saturday night (9/20/2014) and had some other things come up during the night that made her condition even worse. Things don't look so good; she's 'very sick, but stable' at the moment on some medications, but things could change either way quickly. I'm letting you all know in case I'm absent from updates for a while. Writing has always been my way to relax and I'll need it now, more than ever, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get time to write, but I don't know what the future will bring. Hopefully with a lot of positive thoughts and prayers we'll pull through this... My dad is currently in a rehab center to get some strength built back up from his recent stay in the hospital, so I've had a rough few weeks. I'm trying to keep updates going on Twitter (I'm EJ8302 on there), so if you'd like to follow, feel free. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. I know many of you already and it means a lot to have such awesome support from you all. Being an only child sucks sometimes, but I love that I have best friends who are my siblings now.

...


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Stronger Together, Chapter 5/?

Spoilers: Up to 1x08 ~ Save Me; AU afterward

**Warning1:** This story involves a character with a leg amputation.

**Warning2:** This story is male/male fiction. Don't read if you don't like!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Night Shift, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

**Saturday, July 26, 2014**

"I know it was a little awkward, but you gotta admit, that shower felt good," Drew commented as the two moved into their room with towels around their waists.

"Yeah, it felt good," Rick agreed, laughing lightly and taking a seat on the bed, "awkward? I wouldn't say that, but if I didn't need help standing right now it would have been a lot easier."

Drew put on a t-shirt from his closet and grabbed one for Rick, before moving back to the bed, sitting next to him and handing it over, "true, but it'll get easier," Drew assured him, "and I kinda like showering together," he added with a grin.

Rick pulled on the shirt and then wrapped and arm around Drew's shoulders, "yeah, the view is amazing," he agreed.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Drew replied, resting his hand on Rick's thigh and leaned towards him a little, "I really don't wanna move, but I know we can't spend all day in bed."

"I know how you feel, but I kinda want to get up and go do something," Rick replied, shrugging.

"So we will. What do you have in mind?" Drew smiled, standing up and moving towards his dresser to get some briefs for them.

Rick was silent for a moment as he took a pair and worked them on, "actually, I wanna go to my place."

Drew raised a curious eyebrow at him, "really? With two flights of stairs to go up? It's only been a few days since your surgery. I'm not against it, but right now?"

"I've been thinking about it," Rick told him, watching Drew put his briefs and jeans on, momentarily getting distracted, "I, um... Oh, well I was remembering that when I broke my leg before, I climbed stairs," he admitted, "I'd need you behind me going up and probably in front of me going down, but I think I could manage. I'm not saying I want to live there. I'm happy to move in here, but I figured I could get some important things and look around and figure out exactly what we need from there and then," he took a deep breath, "maybe while our moms and Gabby are here they could kinda be in charge of packing it up."

Getting a pair of shoes and sitting back down next to Rick, Drew contemplated his words and nodded, "well, I'm not going to say 'no'. If you think you're ready and strong enough to do this, I'm in," Drew promised, putting his shoes on and glanced at Rick, "so while I get the dressing on your leg, text someone and ask them to stay there if they're still there and we'll get ready to go. You don't have to prove anything to me, you know, right? Just promise me if you have any doubts or aren't sure you can handle it, stop and tell me, okay?"

Rick nodded and looked at him, "deal."

...

After getting the wound dressed, Drew got some sweats for Rick to put on and while he did, Gabby responded to Rick's text message. She said that they were still at Rick's apartment and she'd keep the moms from wanting to leave before they got there.

It wasn't long before they were in Drew's new Jeep and heading over to Rick's apartment building, "you think I'll ever drive again?" Rick asked, realizing his right leg, the one most commonly used in driving an automatic transmission, was the one he was missing.

"When you get a prosthetic, I'm sure it's something that could be possible, but I don't know," Drew admitted honestly.

Rick nodded, "true. I hope I can. I don't know how I'd deal if I can't drive again," he told him, pulling his phone from his pocket and glancing at a few text messages.

Drew wasn't sure what to say. He'd been curious about the same thing, but hoped things would work out, so Rick would be able to. As he came to an intersection, Drew slowed down at the stoplight and Rick gasped, startling Drew, "what? What's wrong?" Drew asked quickly, glancing at his fiancé.

"I just looked at the date," Rick replied, looking up from his phone. "I've been so out of it that I haven't really paid attention. I knew it was coming up just after I got home, but I didn't realize it was today."

"It's Saturday. Is there something you were supposed to do?" Drew wondered, confused at what Rick was getting at.

Rick put his phone back into his pocket and took Drew's hand in his, "happy anniversary."

Drew's eyes widened as they laced their fingers together, "happy anniversary," he replied easily, "you're right. Five years. I guess we've had other things on our minds that have kept us a little distracted," he admitted, glancing at Rick, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Rick smiled, resisting the urge to lean over and kiss Drew. They still hadn't talked about just how much PDA they'd be willing to share when out in public and he didn't want to push either of them right now.

...

Drew parked in one of the visitor spaces and looked at Rick, "you ready for this?"

Rick glanced up at the three story building, thankful he lived on the second floor and took a deep breath, "yes. It's not going to be the easiest, but I want to do this."

"And I've got your back," Drew promised, climbing out of the SUV and moving to get Rick's crutches and a bag from the back he had there.

Rick climbed out of the SUV and leaned against it as he waited for Drew and closed the door. It'd been over a year since he'd set foot in his apartment, "it feels like I've been away from this place longer than I've actually lived in it," Rick murmured, tucking the crutches under his arms and getting some momentum to began the trek to the door into the lobby.

"Well, you kinda have. The last three deployments add up to you being deployed for more than half of our relationship," Drew commented, following him after locking his car doors.

"I know," Rick sighed, "something I'm not happy about."

"Neither am I, but it makes the times we are together more special," Drew replied, pulling open the door into the lobby of the apartment complex.

Rick moved into the familiar space, hallways moving down the building for the first floor residents and then headed towards the main staircase that was in the center of the building, "well, here goes nothing," he commented, looking at the first flight of twelve stairs.

Drew came to stand next to him, "you can do this," he smiled at him, trying to stay positive and hide the worried doctor part of him that wondered if it was too soon.

...

With a deep breath, Rick balanced himself on his leg and put his crutches on the first step and pushed himself up the few inches. It took a moment to get his balance, but after a few steps, memories if doing it once before came back to him and he made it up the first flight of stairs. Reaching the first landing, he leaned against the wall a moment and waited for Drew to join him.

Drew was hanging back a few steps, staying close if he needed him, but keeping his distance so Rick could focus on what he needed to do. Reaching the landing himself, he smiled at Rick, "doing great! One more to go."

Rick groaned, but was glad there had been a spot for a quick break. Taking a calming breath, he felt his heart racing from doing something he hadn't done in some time and he knew he was already sweating, soaking his clean shirt. His underarms were also starting to hurt from the extra pressure they had on them with using the crutches to climb with, but he pushed on to the next set of steps, wanting to continue.

"How are you doing?" Drew asked, following behind him.

"Fine," he choked out, focusing on the last few steps.

Drew watched him finally reach the top and smiled proudly, but chose to keep his congratulations until they were behind closed doors.

"I think I just used muscles I've never used before," Rick muttered, leaning against the wall by the stairs.

"Probably," Drew agreed, coming to stand next to him, "you good?"

"Yeah," Rick nodded, taking a calming breath and pushing himself off the wall to walk his way down the hallway to his apartment, "what's in the bag?"

"Promise you won't get pissed?" Drew asked, glancing at him.

"What is it? Your first aid kit?" Rick laughed lightly as they came to his door, 2H, relieved to finally be there, because he was sweaty and definitely needed something to drink.

Drew put his hand on the doorknob and bit his lip, "uh, yeah."

Rick continued to laugh as Drew opened the door, "what did you think would happen?"

"I had no clue, but I was coming prepared," Drew replied, stepping into the apartment and moving aside to let Rick go in.

As soon as Rick got inside and Drew closed the door, Rick turned to his fiancé, "ever the boy scout, I see," he smirked, "I'm alright."

"Boys, what are you doing here?" Wendy gasped, moving out of the kitchen area, "Rick, you don't look alright," she added, moving towards him.

"I'm alright, Wendy," Rick replied, "just a little out of breath and sweaty."

"Rick? Drew?" Terry gasped, having heard their voices, "what are you doing here?" She asked, moving right over to Rick and putting her hand on his forehead, "you're so sweaty and your heart is racing! Come sit down and put your leg up and I'll get you a cool towel," she added, moving towards the kitchen.

"Mom, I don't need a cool towel," Rick groaned, moving towards the couch to sit down.

"What on Earth possessed you to come over here?" Terry asked, ignoring Rick's comment and returning to the living area with a kitchen towel soaked in cold water, "you could have fallen down the stairs!" She admitted, pressing the towel against his forehead.

"I could have, but I didn't," Rick replied, batting her hand away, "mom, seriously, it's okay."

"Rick, I just worry about you. You're moving so fast. One time you say you don't think you'll be coming over here for a while and now you're showing up here. You've got to quit acting so tough about this. You're going to overwhelm yourself," Terry told him, sitting on the coffee table across from him.

"Mom," Rick took a deep breath and tried his best not to upset her, "I can't sit back and watch my life pass by. You're wrong if you think I should sit in a wheelchair, mope around, letting everyone wait on me because I lost my leg. That's not me. I want my life back. I want to get married and have a family and be able to spontaneously go for a hike with Drew or take a vacation with him," Rick paused and leaned forward, taking her hand in his, "I love you and I appreciate that you're here, but support me, please, don't tell me what to do. I know you're just trying to help and we're all learning as we go, but don't you think it's better to let me do as much as I can on my own, so I can be more independent instead of depending on someone?"

The older woman had tears in her eyes as her son spoke. She'd tried to stay strong and put aside how upset she was at what happened to him, but she couldn't hold on anymore, "I'm so sorry," she choked out, moving to sit next to him on the couch and wrapped her arms around him, "I don't mean to overwhelm you, but I'm trying so hard to keep from showing just how upset I am. My son lost his leg and there was nothing I could do!"

Rick hugged her tightly and rubbed her back, "there was nothing you could have done to save my leg, mom. Drew and TC tried, but it was too damaged. I'm not happy about what happened either, but I'm not mad at them. They did all they could and," he paused, "now it's in the past. I can't change it and neither can you. Now we can either dwell on it or put it in the past and move on. My recovery is not going to be easy, as Drew saw earlier, but I'm gonna need your support," he glanced around at his sister, Wendy and Drew who'd moved into the living area as he was talking, "all of yours. I know I may seem stubborn, but I don't want this to define who I am, because I'd like to think I have a lot of life to live for."

Drew sat on the armrest of the couch next to his fiancé and rested his hand on his shoulder, "you definitely do," Drew assured him, "and you know I'm here."

"We are, too," Gabby added, smiling at her brother and Wendy nodded in agreement, waiting for Terry to respond.

Terry sat for a moment, soaking in what Rick told her and smiled lightly, reaching up to rest a hand on his cheek, "of course I'm here for you," she replied, "and I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. You've grown into such an amazing man."

Rick smiled at her response, but glanced at his fiancé briefly, "thanks, mom, but I didn't do all the work myself. If it wasn't for some people I'd still be pissed at the world," Rick replied, trying to pass off the compliment.

"Take the credit, Rick," Drew smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to Rick's forehead, "things I've said and things other people have said may have stuck with you, but it was you who had to decide to believe what we said."

"But I don't think I could have had any reason to believe anything without you," Rick admitted, "you gave me a reason to fight this."

Drew held out his left hand to Rick and Rick took it, lacing their fingers together easily. Looking at their joined hands, Drew's engagement ring standing out against his skin, he smiled, "selfishly, I didn't want to lose you, but I knew you were stronger than what happened and had faith you could fight it, you just needed the push."

Rick pressed a kiss to the top of Drew's hand and smiled, squeezing his hand gently, "yeah, but we're stronger together."

...

Taking a moment to calm down from their conversation, the moms and Gabby decided to go out and get something for dinner, so the guys could have some time alone in Rick's apartment. Both men decided the couch would be the best place to relax.

"Do you remember our first kiss?" Rick asked softly.

Drew smirked at the question and glanced down at his fiancé. Rick was using Drew's thigh as a pillow and Drew was gently running his hand through Rick's short hair, massaging his scalp, "which one? The first time you kissed me or the first time we kissed?" The doctor wondered curiously.

...

**Flashback - Saturday, July 25, 2009**

"Dude, Rick, remind me to never let you drink that much in one night again," twenty-one year old Private First Class (PFC) Drew Alister muttered as he guided the severely drunk man up the stairs in Rick's apartment building.

"Why? I can hold my liquor," twenty-five year old Second Lieutenant (2LT) Rick Lincoln replied, his arm draped around Drew's shoulders as they walked upstairs.

"Holding your liquor and being drunk are two different things," Drew replied, glad he'd had sense enough to stop at his second beer that night.

"Aw, listen to you. Already talking like a doctor," Rick leaned his head on Drew's shoulder as they paused at the first landing of the staircase.

"Come on, let's just get you upstairs," Drew rolled his eyes and since Rick still had his arm around his shoulders, Drew took Rick's hand to hold him and kept his other arm around Rick's back to guide him towards the second flight of stairs, "I'm just glad you weren't in your uniform."

"I don't drink in my uniform," Rick told him, laughing lightly as he stumbled a little on the steps, "maybe I shoulda gotten the apartment on the first floor."

Drew couldn't help laughing lightly at Rick's comment, but continued on, coaxing the Army officer upstairs. When they finally reached the top, Drew sighed in relief and guided him down the familiar hallway until they stopped outside 2H, Rick's apartment, "where's your keys, Rick?"

"My pocket," Rick murmured, digging into his jeans for them. Fumbling for the right key, they accidentally slipped from his hands.

With quick reflexes, Drew grabbed them before they hit the floor. Finding the right keys, Drew unlocked the two locks and pushed the door open, "come on. Time to get you into bed."

"Oh you're no fun," Rick huffed, letting Drew guide him into the dimly lit apartment.

"Neither are you when you're this wasted," Drew replied, closing the door once they were both inside, and then guided Rick towards his bedroom, glad there were a few lamps on to light their way into the room.

Once they were in his room, Rick pulled away from Drew and took a few uneven steps towards his bed and then turned around to look at Drew, "you know, I'd really like to congratulate you on your new career path," Rick murmured.

"Thanks, but you can wait until tomorrow when you're sober," Drew replied.

"No, I want to now," Rick stepped towards him and put his arms around Drew's neck. Smiling Rick leaned in, pressing his lips to Drew's in a soft kiss.

Drew froze when their lips connected, a mix of confusion and shock washing over him as he stood there. He had things in his life that he hid from everyone, but as Rick kissed him, he couldn't bring himself to push his friend away; he didn't want to. Unfortunately, reality kicked him and Drew realized what was happening.

It wasn't that they were kissing, he could deal with that later; it was that Rick was very drunk and the last thing Drew wanted was for Rick to do something he'd regret in the morning, so he reluctantly pulled away, "Rick, you're wasted."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that," Rick muttered.

"I don't want to talk about this," he told him, putting his hands on Rick's shoulders and gently guided him back towards the bed, "you've gotta sleep off the alcohol."

"You can stay if you want," Rick smiled, laying down and leaning back against his pillows.

Drew watched him, ignoring his offer. His mind was racing and he just needed time to clear his head, but he wasn't going to do anything until he knew Rick was asleep, which happened quicker than expected.

Sighing in relief, Drew quietly stepped out of Rick's room and closed the door, before moving to leave. As his hand landed on the doorknob, Drew realized he didn't have anywhere to go. He still lived in the barracks on post and he'd had two beers that night. They weren't enough to get him as drunk as Rick, but he figured his blood-alcohol level was high enough that he shouldn't be driving. He knew he could get into a lot of trouble if he showed up to the gate, driving and having been drinking, so he reluctantly glanced at Rick's couch and moved towards it, taking a seat and kicking his shoes off. Dropping Rick's keys on the table, Drew leaned back and stretched out on the couch.

The kiss didn't piss him off, it did quite the opposite; he enjoyed it. Drew had known he was gay for years, but his plan was always to join the military and he knew he could be dishonorably discharged if it got out and he didn't want to ruin his military career because he preferred men, so he chose to keep his preference a secret from everyone.

As Drew laid on the couch, he began to think back to the last two years that they'd known each other, wondering if there had been anytime when he'd slipped or dropped any hints to Rick that he liked guys, or if Rick had done the same thing. He did remember they'd gotten to be good friends pretty quickly during Basic and when Drew had gone to Fort Sam Houston (FSH) in San Antonio for combat medic training, he and Rick admitted in emails that they missed 'hanging out' when Rick was at Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Fort Benning, Georgia. There didn't seem to be anything that stood out, not even after Rick arrived at FSH for his first duty station as an officer. They were glad to see each other and began hanging out again, always when they were off-duty and off post, because Drew was enlisted and Rick was an officer. They both respected the chain-of-command and if they were working, the guys knew Drew was Rick's subordinate and Drew had to follow Rick's orders, but thankfully they didn't work in the same area of FSH, so it wasn't too much of a problem.

Then, Rick and Drew's units got deployed for the first time. Again, the guys weren't working in the same area, but they saw each other and being in such a dangerous place and situation, their friendship grew stronger and now that they were home, it continued.

In all the thoughts, Drew could not think of a time when Rick had showed any sign that he might be gay and he began to worry that he'd actually lose Rick's friendship if Rick remembered the kiss.

"_Okay, Rick was drunk. He wasn't thinking clearly. He's probably not even going to remember it in the morning and it was just an 'in the heat of the moment' kiss, so forget about it,_" Drew told himself, taking a deep breath and trying to let his body relax, but he couldn't help his reaction, "_yeah, he's a good looking guy and a great person. He's definitely someone I'd think of dating, if the situation was different, but his friendship means more to me; I don't want to lose him, so I hope he doesn't remember,_" Drew sighed and shook his head, "_I can't believe that was my first kiss with a guy. Sure, I've kissed girls and had girlfriends in high school, but I'm gay. Those kisses didn't mean anything. This one did and it was with my drunk best friend, who's probably not even going to remember it in the morning. Figures... Look, just relax and put it behind you. Rick's not going to remember it and you can't talk about it, because of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy..._"

...

**Flashback - Sunday, July 26, 2009**

Rick woke up the following morning with a pounding headache, "shit," he groaned, clenching his eyes closed as he rolled away from the bright sun shining into his bedroom window. "I gotta limit my drinking," he muttered, realizing he needed to take something for his headache and sat up, finding he still had his clothes on from the night before.

Curious how he got there, but more focused on getting something for his headache, he got up and padded into the bathroom. Finding some Tylenol, he got a few pills and headed to the kitchen to get some water, not even realizing he had a guest on the couch until after he'd taken the pills and turned to look into the living area.

Briefly, Rick was surprised to see Drew on the couch, but it wasn't unusual. They would hang out and if it got too late or they had too much to drink, Drew would crash on Rick's couch so he wasn't going back to the barracks with alcohol on his breath.

Without thinking about it any more, Rick began making a pot of coffee and then went to change clothes. Returning to the kitchen just as the coffee began to fill the pot, Rick filled two mugs and added his and Drew's 'usual' extras to it before moving into the living room and setting Drew's coffee down on the table next to Rick's keys, "Drew, there's coffee on the table if you want it," Rick said softly, not wanting to wake him up, but if he was starting to stir, he could get the coffee while it was still warm.

Hearing Rick's voice, Drew woke quickly and jumped a little, for a moment not realizing where he was, "oh, hi."

Rick laughed lightly, "sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Drew shook his head, "it's okay," he replied, sitting up and reaching for his coffee, "thanks."

"It's okay. Least I could do. I'm assuming you brought me home last night," Rick commented.

"Uh, yeah," Drew nodded, the memories of the night before flooding his mind, "you were wasted."

"I definitely am paying for it today," Rick replied, rubbing his forehead and moving back into the kitchen, "you want something to eat?"

"Uh, nah, I'm good," Drew replied, "I gotta get back to the barracks," he told him reaching for his shoes to put them on, "I've got some things to do before work tomorrow."

Rick raised a curious eyebrow at Drew, knowing he'd told him the day before he had nothing to do that day, "oh? Did something come up last night?"

"Oh, um, no, I just..." Drew finished putting his shoes on and took a sip of the coffee, realizing he had to think about what he was going to say without Rick catching on. Drew needed some time to think and he didn't want to piss Rick off.

"Look, Drew, if you don't want to have breakfast, that's fine. I just know you've stayed for breakfast before when you've crashed here and you know you're welcome to stay," Rick told him, realizing something was going on with Drew, "is everything alright with you? You were fine last night, well, as much of last night as I can actually remember. Did something happen after my third shot of tequila?"

Drew smirked at that, got up and moved towards Rick in the kitchen, "yeah, you had a fourth shot of tequila," Drew replied, "so you don't remember me bringing you back here?"

"Nope. Last thing I clearly remember is the tequila and being thankful it wasn't karaoke night," Rick laughed, nursing his coffee cup.

"Oh thank God it wasn't," Drew smirked, setting his half empty cup of coffee on the counter and reached for the pot at the same time Rick was reaching for the creamer right next to it and their hands touched lightly. Drew pulled his hand back quickly and gasped.

Rick froze and looked at Drew, "what is wrong with you? I've never known you to be this jumpy. Wait, did I do something to you last night?"

Drew swallowed nervously, "it's nothing," he shrugged, "I should just go," he motioned to the door and moved out of the kitchen.

"Drew, wait a second," Rick followed after him until Drew stopped and turned to look at him, "look, if I did or said something to you last night that pissed you off, I'm sorry, but I was so wasted, I don't remember it."

"That's what I figured and it's probably better that we both forget it," Drew told him, turning to walk away again.

"What the hell? You're not even going to tell me what I did?" Rick asked, a little pissed Drew was walking away from something he had no clue about, "it's not like I kissed you," he added in a soft voice, hoping that would kick Drew enough to talk to him, but knowing it wasn't something to joke about, either.

Drew froze as he was almost to the door, refusing to turn around as he tried to gather his thoughts.

At Drew's sudden reaction, Rick gasped and stepped back, "shit, Drew, did I kiss you?" He asked quickly, his voice lower than it had been.

Taking a deep breath, Drew turned around and eyed Rick, for the first time seeing panic and fear in his eyes. Silently, Drew nodded, feeling like he should leave, but part of him wanted to stay.

"Oh this can't be happening," Rick groaned, running his hands through his short hair nervously, "Drew, I can explain..."

"No!" Drew said quickly, "I don't want you to explain and I'm not asking," Drew told him, "you were drunk. You weren't thinking clearly and I'm not going to tell anyone, okay?"

Rick nodded and took a deep breath, "but, you deserve the truth. I shouldn't have hid it from you, you're my best friend."

"Stop right there," Drew held up his hand, "don't say anything else. I get it and your secret is safe with me," he finished, turning around and walking towards the door.

"Drew, I'm so sorry," Rick murmured softly, fighting numerous emotions as he watched Drew leave, "you don't have to go."

Drew opened the door and glanced at him, "I just need some time to think," he finished, stepping out of the apartment and closed the door behind him, before he lost his strength.

Rick watched the door close and took a deep breath, hating that he had been so drunk that he lost all his self-control and probably ruined their friendship, "_Damn it! How could I have let this happen? Why didn't I stop myself? I fucked up big time,_" Rick sighed, "_I want to go after him, but I'm probably the last person he wants to see. Hell, he'll probably never talk to me again. I probably ruined our friendship and all because I've been hiding how I really feel about him and that I'm attracted to him._"

Taking a seat on the couch, Rick leaned back, "_why wasn't I more careful? I've hid my sexuality in the military for years and I've gotten drunk before and never did anything. Granted last night was the first night I drank that much tequila. I guess I should be thankful for small miracles that it happened here and not at the bar, but still. I wish I could have told Drew before now. He deserved the truth and I didn't even technically tell him the truth, but I think he got the idea. What am I going to do? Drew's my best friend and now I don't know what's going to happen, but I definitely won't be drinking tequila again,_" Rick stretched out on the couch, the idea of breakfast completely gone as he worried about what had happened, "_dude, just take some time to relax. Drew needs some time to cool off. Things will work out; they have to,_" Rick closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to believe that.

...

Drew hated that he had to hide who he was. He loved the Army and didn't want to jeopardize his career for his lifestyle choice, but he hated that he couldn't be himself. Rick's kiss was an eye-opener for him. Drew realized that he wanted and knew he deserved to be happy and just because the military frowned on his sexuality, didn't mean he couldn't find happiness somehow. He just never imagined it'd come from the man he'd become best friends with since meeting him in Basic Training.

Leaving Rick's was hard. It wasn't that he wanted to be away from Rick; he just needed to clear his head. In just a few short hours, all the feelings and emotions he'd briefly had at some point surfaced and his attraction grew for his best friend, who he just found out was gay. Part of him didn't want to tell Rick anything, afraid Rick would pull away from him if he knew his feelings, but his heart told him he needed to go back to Rick's and explain what was on his mind; like Rick said to him, he deserved to know the truth and he felt the same towards Rick.

For several hours, Drew drove around San Antonio. He contemplated stopping at a local park to go for a walk, but he wasn't in the mood for exercise and driving had always helped calm him down. In the time that he was driving, soon he found himself returning to Rick's apartment and parking in one of the visitor spaces.

It took him about twenty minutes to gather the courage to get out and head towards the lobby. There he went upstairs and returned to the familiar hallway, and soon came to a stop outside of Rick's apartment. Before he knocked, he took a deep breath, "_you can do this. You need to do this. Rick deserves the truth and he needs to know you trust him and he can trust you,_" he thought, lifting his hand and knocking on the door.

...

Rick fell asleep when he'd laid down on the couch, glad to sleep off the hangover he had, but more because he needed to calm down from what had happened. He wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but woke to someone knocking on his door. Pushing himself up, he padded across the floor, half asleep, and reached for the knob, not even bothering to look to see who it was.

Pulling the door open, Rick's eyes widened in shock when he saw the man who'd been on his mind all day, "Drew! Uh, hey. I didn't expect to see you again."

"Honestly, I didn't think I'd be back so soon either, but can, uh, can I come in?" Drew motioned into the apartment.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Rick stepped aside, "come in."

Drew nodded his thanks and moved into the apartment, letting Rick close the door before he continued, "so, you were right earlier."

"I was right? About what?" Rick wondered, unsure what he was getting at.

"You said I deserved the truth and you're right. We both deserve to hear the truth," Drew explained, putting his hands nervously into his pockets.

"Look, Drew, I was drunk. You don't have to make this into something else. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, I didn't want that to happen, but you know the rules and all," Rick told him, moving away from the door and leaning against the back of the couch.

"No, don't apologize. I think," Drew took a deep breath, "I've been driving around for the last few hours with a thousand things swirling through my head and I think I did need to find out this way."

"What are you talking about?" Rick asked, completely confused.

"I get why you've had to hide who you truly are. I want you to know that as your friend, your best friend, that you don't have to hide with me," Drew told him, "I know what's on the line if anyone found out and your secret is safe with me, I swear."

Rick swallowed nervously, "thank you," he smiled lightly, happy to hear Drew still considered him a best friend and that he'd keep his secret.

Drew returned his smile and took a calming breath, "you see, I know what it's like to keep a secret and I've been lying to you. Like I said, we both deserve to know the truth."

"Drew, what are you talking about? What secret could you possibly be keeping?" Rick asked, oblivious to where Drew was going with that statement.

Taking a step closer to him, Drew watched Rick stiffen and stand up a little straighter, so he paused, not wanting to freak him out, "I can't _tell_ you," he started, reaching out to rest his hands on Rick's shoulders.

Rick raised a curious eyebrow at him, his heart beginning to race as he tried to figure out exactly what Drew was hinting at, "tell me what?"

Drew closed the distance between them and moved his hands from Rick's shoulders to rest against his cheeks for a moment, "would you let me show you that you're not the only one keeping a secret?" He asked softly.

Blinking his eyes in shock at what Drew was doing, Rick nodded and before he could say anything, Drew leaned in and pressed his lips to Rick's. For a moment, Rick was stunned at the kiss, but as Drew wrapped his arms around Rick's neck, Rick immediately reacted by putting his arms around Drew's body and leaned into him, letting years of built up attraction finally surface for both of them. For those brief moments, the two were relieved to finally be able to be themselves with someone they trusted and allowed them to forget about the 'rules' for a moment.

Reluctantly, the need for air pulled them back into reality and as their lips broke apart, Rick pressed his forehead to Drew's, "I'm not _asking_."

"I'm not _telling_," Drew replied honestly, locking gazes with Rick's, "but are you sure this is okay? I mean, being us?"

Rick smiled and nodded, "there's no one else I could imaging being an _us_ with."

...

**Present Day - Saturday, July 26, 2014**

Rick smiled at Drew's question and shifted to sit up next to him, "the first time we kissed. You've told me about when I kissed you, but I still don't remember; I was so drunk."

Drew laughed lightly and put his arm around his fiancé and pulled him close, "I know. I'd never seen you that drunk before."

"And that will never happen again," Rick replied, "I haven't had tequila since and I kinda lost interest in alcohol."

"Damn, I was hoping we could recreate that sometime," Drew winked, kissing him, "and maybe continue with how that night could have ended if things had been different."

Rick pulled back from the kiss and decided to joke with him a little and see what he'd say, "what kind of guy do you think I am? I don't get wasted and sleep with just _anyone_. I do have standards."

"Standards, huh?" Drew leaned Rick to the side until he took the hint and shifted to lay his back on the couch and Drew moved to lay next to him on his side, "I do meet those standards, right?"

"I don't know," Rick replied, eyeing him, "the guy I sleep with has to be attractive," he glanced at him and smiled, "yeah, you definitely meet that one. He's also gotta be loving and caring, which you definitely are. He's gotta have a sense of humor, but also know when to be serious," Rick paused, "yep, that's you. He's gotta accept me for who I am and support me and you definitely do," Rick pressed a kiss to Drew's lips, "he's gotta be a good kisser," he paused, "I may have to check on that one again."

Drew kissed him lovingly, bringing up his free hand to brush against Rick's cheek.

As they pulled apart, Rick smiled, "yes, you're definitely an excellent kisser. The guy has to share some of my interests and enjoy doing them together, but also willing to give us our own space," Rick nodded, "yeah, you do," he smiled, "he's definitely gotta love me with all his heart and I know you definitely do and you know I love you the same, right?"

"I do," Drew nodded, happy to listen to him talk, "what else?"

"You really want me to continue? You know I'm describing you, the only man I'll ever love, right?" Rick asked, eyeing him, his cheeks flushing a little.

Drew nodded again and draped his arm over Rick's chest, "of course I know, but it's nice to hear just why you love me and," Drew kissed him gently, "I've missed you. You've only been home a few days. It was a long fourteen months without you, without being able to hear your real voice or feel your touch."

Rick shifted and wrapped his arms around Drew's back and pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his lips, "I missed you, too. This was the longest deployment I've had since we joined the military," he added, "emails and Skype calls are not the same as being together, but I'm here now."

"You definitely are," Drew agreed, smiling at him, "and I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier. I'm so proud of you for making it up here on your own," he added, kissing his fiancé once more.

Before Rick had a chance to respond, the door opened and they realized their family was back, "do we have to move?" Rick asked.

Drew laughed lightly and shook his head, "maybe they won't notice."

Gabby leaned over the back of the couch and looked at them, "if you wanted to have sex you could have told me. I would have stalled them," she winked.

"Oh yes, just what every brother tells his sister, 'keep mom out of the apartment for a little longer so we can have sex'," Rick shook his head, "Drew and I were friends before we became a couple and we've been apart for so damn long it's nice to just spend time together."

"And we've got the rest of our lives to be together, but thanks for the offer," Drew added.

"Speaking of that, have you talked about any ideas for your wedding?" Wendy asked curiously as she and Terry began to gather up plates and set the table for dinner, the women having gone to get Chinese.

Drew groaned, "mom, we just got engaged."

"Of course you did, but you're going to need to talk about it at some point. At least you could decide where you'd like to have it. Quite a few states have legalized same-sex marriages in the last few years," Terry replied.

"I'm not very current on which ones," Rick replied, "kinda had limited news in the sandpit," he turned to look at his fiancé, "you have any ideas?"

Drew thought for a moment and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess that depends. Both of our home-states legalized it, New Mexico and Washington. California and Hawaii did, too. There are others, but those four stood out to me the most," Drew replied.

Rick smiled, reaching up to rest his hand on Drew's cheek, "I'll let you pick, but I'm open to any of those four," he told him.

"You want me to pick? You sure?" Drew asked surprised.

"Yeah. I'm sure. I know you're not always thrilled when we end up in Hawaii, so I want you to pick where we get married, because honestly, as long as I end up as your husband, I'll be happy," he smiled.

Drew returned his smile and nodded, "okay. I feel the same way, but I'll figure it out," he assured him, "should we get up?"

"Oh, I suppose we should. You don't have to work tonight, right?" Rick asked.

"Nope and I'm not even on call. The only reason I'd get called in is if there was a major disaster," Drew replied, shifting to sit up, being careful not to hit Rick's leg.

Rick turned as Drew did and the two sat up, stretching a little, "so I get you all weekend?"

Drew stood up and turned around, holding his hand out to Rick, "yep, I'm all yours. Or until you're sick of me."

Taking his hand, Rick stood up and came face to face with him and balanced himself on his good leg before he reached for his crutches, "I don't think I could ever be sick of you," Rick admitted honestly, getting settled on his crutches.

"Good to know. I feel the same way," Drew replied, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Rick's lips, "love you."

"Love you, too, Drew," Rick smiled, "always."

...

**Saturday Night**

The five of them settled around the table to eat dinner and chatted lightly. The moms brought up the wedding again and Drew and Rick both, as nicely as possible, asked them to lay off. The two women could see they didn't want to talk about it, so they reluctantly dropped the subject... for the time being.

As dinner came to an end, Drew and Rick got to the whole reason why they'd come over to the apartment in the first place. To give Rick a chance to pack up some of his more important things, that he didn't want to get lost in his move and a few more bags full of clothes, piling the bags by the door when they were full.

After a bit, Rick leaned against the wall by the door, looking around at his apartment. It was pretty empty. In the time he'd had the place, he'd only been there half the time with all the deployments he'd gone on, so he never put much focus on decorating and only got the necessary furniture items to keep the apartment functional. He also knew at any time he could be told he was being transferred somewhere else and would have to move, so he didn't want to drag a bunch of unneeded things around if he did have to leave San Antonio.

As he looked around, Rick couldn't help feeling a little sad. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be in the apartment again and just knowing he'd be leaving a place that held so many good memories hurt him, in a way, hurting as much as losing his leg did.

Drew noticed what Rick was doing and moved towards him, leaning against the wall next to his fiancé. He had a pretty good idea what was on his mind, because Drew himself had been thinking about the memories they'd shared at the apartment. "I'm gonna miss this place," Drew admitted, glancing at Rick, "we've always been able to be ourselves here."

Rick smiled and nodded, "yeah, we have been," he agreed, taking a deep breath, "it's a bittersweet moment, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. Seven years of friendship and five years of a relationship and we're finally going to live together. It's a happy moment, but it'll be hard to leave," Drew told him.

"Exactly. I'm happy to finally live with you and I know," he motioned towards the stairs, "I could not do the stairs more than once every few days. That took a lot out of me, so I can't stay here, but still. Leaving the place that's been 'home' and with so many memories for the last few years, it's hard, but," Rick smiled and looked at his fiancé, "I'm looking forward to starting our life together."

Drew put his arm around Rick's shoulders and pressed a kiss to his lips, "I am, too."

...

The guys took a few minutes to gather their thoughts before getting ready to leave. Gabby was going back with them, since she'd been staying with them, giving their moms a chance to stay at Rick's. Gabby had taken Rick's bags down to Drew's SUV and was waiting for them, giving them a final few moments in the apartment.

"Sweetheart, are you sure you're ready to move out of here?" Terry asked Rick as the two moms finished saying 'goodnight' to their sons. Terry wanted a final confirmation he was ready.

Rick nodded as he gave her a hug, "yeah. I'm sure. I'm ready to start my life with Drew and I'll speak with my landlady in the next few days about it, too."

"We'd be happy to help pack things and start bringing boxes over to your place when we come over," Wendy told them, "if you're alright with that."

Drew and Rick exchanged glances and Rick nodded, "yeah, I am. I'd appreciate that, actually. I don't think I could be much help moving things and I won't be able to climb those stairs for a while, and by then I won't need to be back here. Thank you," he smiled at them.

Wendy stepped towards Rick and gave him a hug, "no thanks needed. You're family."

Rick returned her hug and smiled, "that means a lot to hear. I know... I know you're the only one of Drew's family who knows about us, so I'm glad you approve."

"I admit I was shocked at first, but I'm happy my son's happy and I love that I'm gaining another son," she smiled, then looked at Drew, "I'm sure if you told your sisters and dad, you'd find that they would be just as supportive, but I know you need to be ready to tell them yourself."

"When I'm ready, I'll tell them," Drew replied simply, giving his mom and Terry a hug, "we're gonna go. See you two tomorrow."

"Drive careful," Wendy warned as Drew opened the door and let Rick step out of the apartment.

"We will," he waved, closing the door and following his fiancé towards the stairs.

"You wanna talk about it?" Rick asked, glancing at Drew as he handed him one of his crutches, so he could hang onto the railing.

"No, but we could talk about what the heck you're doing," Drew commented, eyeing Rick.

"I'm gonna hold the railing with one hand and balance with the other crutch and use my good leg. What? I'm not going down with both crutches or I'm liable to end up on the floor," Rick replied, "you don't trust me?"

"Trust isn't the word I'd use. More like concerned. I don't think that's the safest," Drew replied.

"Now who's acting like a mother hen?" Rick laughed lightly, moving down the first step, "come on, Drew. Have a little faith."

Drew took a deep breath and moved down a few steps to get ahead of Rick in case he fell, "alright, you win."

"It's not about winning or losing," Rick replied, "it's about me being independent. I can do this stuff. It might not be as easy as it is for you, but hopefully it'll come back when I get a prosthetic," he explained, moving down a few more stairs without much problem, "and if I have an issue, I know you're there. Maybe this is being stubborn, but I want to see what I can do on my own."

"There's nothing wrong with that. I guess from a medical standpoint, I'm concerned you're going to get hurt if you're not careful, but as your partner and more importantly as your friend, I want to make things easy for you," Drew told him, "and I know once you get your prosthetic you'll get back to everything you did before, but until then, I'm just worried about you."

"And I appreciate that," Rick smiled, moving down a few more steps, "and I know it's usually hard for me to ask for help, but I will, okay?"

Drew nodded, "deal."

...

Reaching the landing, the guys took a break, before Rick continued and both were thankful he made it all the way down without slipping or falling. Soon the two were walking out to Drew's SUV and noticed Gabby was sitting on the curb next to it, her knees up to her chest, her head down and her phone in her hand. "Gabs," Rick started, using a nickname he called her once and a while, "you okay?"

Gabby jumped at the voices and quickly wiped her eyes, "yeah," she nodded, standing up, "you guys ready to go?"

Rick came up to her and immediately could tell she'd been crying, "you're not alright," he commented, shifting to lean against Drew's SUV, so he didn't need his crutches for support, and then wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close, "you don't have to lie to me."

At his words, Gabby sunk against him and started crying.

"Whoa, sis," Rick's eyes widened as he held onto her, "what's wrong?"

"My boyfriend cheated on me," she choked out, then pulled back from him and wiped her eyes, trying to shake away her emotions, "I'm sorry. You probably have more important things on your mind than dealing with my relationship problems," she muttered, trying to pass off her outburst.

"Hold up," Rick pulled her back against him and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I'm still your brother, no matter what's going on in my life. I'm always going to be there for you," he assured her.

Gabby smiled lightly as she pulled back from him and took a deep breath, "thanks."

"You don't have to thank me," Rick replied, "now what happened?"

"Can we talk about it in the car?" She asked, knowing they were gonna head back to their place.

"Of course," Rick nodded, resting his hands on her cheeks, "I think I know what we should do tonight."

"Really? What?" She asked, trying to calm down.

"Drown our emotions in ice cream and movies," he smirked, "that always cheered you up before."

Gabby smiled, blushing, "yeah, are you sure? I mean... I can deal with this on my own. You guys should be spending time together, too."

"I'm not the only one who missed Rick," Drew commented, opening Rick's door as he pushed off the SUV and the two moved to it, "he's your brother. You have every right to spend time with him, too."

"Thanks, Drew," Gabby slid her arm around his back and smiled, "you're my brother, too, you know?"

Drew smiled at her and returned her hug, "thanks. That means a lot."

...

Getting into the SUV, Drew drove them back towards their place, but stopped at the grocery store to get some ice cream and some snack foods before they headed home.

Rick didn't let Gabby keep what was going on from him and she finally told them. Her friends had gone out to dinner and snapped a photo of her boyfriend getting cozy with a girl at the same restaurant. Her friend had called her to tell her about the photo she was sending and added that they'd confronted him and he didn't deny it, saying she took off without any idea when she'd be home and he wasn't gonna just sit around. When Gabby heard all that, she called him and broke up with him, which is when Drew and Rick had found her; she'd just gotten off the phone with him.

"Okay, I wanna fly to Washington and beat the shit out of someone," Rick commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Down boy, I'd prefer you to stay out of jail," Drew commented, "even if I want to beat the shit out of him, too."

"I agree with Drew," Gabby replied, "I don't need you getting in trouble. If he can't be faithful to me after being gone only a few days because I came to see my brothers, he's not worth my time."

Rick smiled at his sister, "that's my girl."

"Yeah, well, I'm still upset, but I'll get over it. You guys sure you wanna watch a movie and eat ice cream all night?" She asked, biting her lip, "I'm not intruding on your time?"

"Drew and I have the rest of our lives together, sis. Just being in the same room with each other is nice. You're not intruding on anything," Rick assured her.

"Yeah, and it's been a tough week for all of us. I could use some time to kick back, relax and spend it with my family," Drew replied, glancing at his fiancé.

Rick nodded in agreement and reached over, massaging Drew's neck gently as he drove through the streets of San Antonio, "I think we all could."

...

**Up Next:** The events of The Night Shift Episode '1x07 - Blood Brothers' from Drew's point-of-view.

A/N3: Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed! Please review to let me know! Did you like the flashback? I plan to have several more throughout this story. Feel free to tell me what you'd like to see for flashbacks (and for the story, if you'd like) and I'll see what I can do. :) Hope the ages are alright. I wanted them a little younger than Brendan and Luke. Also, Paul mentioned in 1x06 that he was 24, so I decided to make Drew just a few years older than him. To all my reviewers, thank you! Hope I'm able to respond to your messages soon, but for now, sending a thank you to all of you! Your words keep me writing!

A/N4: Since the last few shows of the season (1x06-1x08) aired here in the US in July of 2014, that's why I went with Saturday, July 26, 2014, and I think I was working on this chapter around that time, too, so it fit.

A/N5: It's been a rough few weeks for my family. Many things are still unknown, but my mom has improved some. Thank you for your love, support, thoughts and prayers. It really means a lot!

...


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Stronger Together, Chapter 6/?

**Spoilers:** Up to 1x08 ~ Save Me; AU afterward

**Warning1:** This story involves a character with a leg amputation.

**Warning2:** This story is male/male fiction. Don't read if you don't like!

Disclaimer1: I don't own The Night Shift, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

**A/N3 - SPOILERS:** Chapter 6 and 7 will focus on events from episodes '1x07 - Blood Brothers' and '1x08 - Save Me' of The Night Shift. Since most of us have seen these episodes, or may be soon seeing them, if you live in other countries where it's airing, I'm not going to focus too much on things that didn't involve Drew, but I will mention some important scenes or things that may be needed to follow along with the episodes.

**Disclaimer2:** Any similarities to cases and scenes from The Night Shift Episodes '1x07 - Blood Brothers' or '1x08 - Save Me' are purposely borrowed for this work of fiction. I do not own.

Underlined text: Quotes from The Night Shift Episodes '1x07 - Blood Brothers' or '1x08 - Save Me'. I don't own. Just borrowing for this work of fiction.

...

True to their words, Drew and Rick stayed up the rest of Saturday night with Gabby, watching sappy romantic comedies on Drew's XBox, since he had a Netflix account. Eventually, the three fell asleep during the early Sunday morning hours, with the guys laying together on one couch and Gabby stretched out on the other.

Because it was a weekend, Wendy and Terry expected their kids to sleep late, but when they arrived around eight-am, they were surprised to find they were all in the living room sound asleep. Not waking them up, the two women returned to Rick's apartment to gather up the first few boxes of Rick's stuff to move. When they returned to Drew and Rick's a little later, they found Gabby, Drew and Rick just getting up, so they all sat down for brunch.

Rick was surprised they were already moving things, but he appreciated that they were willing to get started and help him out. He also explained why they'd all slept in the living room and Gabby told them about breaking up with her boyfriend. She admitted she was glad the guys were willing to stay up with her and watch movies; it helped her deal a little, but she knew she wouldn't be completely 'okay' for a while.

After brunch, Gabby got ready for the day and she went back to Rick's place with their moms, leaving the guys to go through some of the boxes they'd brought over earlier in the day. Inside the boxes were things they didn't need immediately, so Drew put them in the garage, so they didn't take up too much room in the small living room and then he and Rick sat down to just talk, something they'd missed doing since they'd been apart for so long.

With a few trips to and from Drew and Rick's place, the moms and Gabby brought quite a bit more over. Most of it went into the garage, since it didn't all have to be gone through immediately, while some stayed in the living room so they could go through it slowly.

They had pizza for dinner that night and after one final trip with things that night, the moms returned to Rick's for some sleep, leaving Gabby and the guys at their place. Gabby claimed one of the guys' couches to sleep, having not slept much the night before, leaving Rick and Drew to relax in their room.

...

**Monday, July 28, 2014**

Drew and Rick tried to stay up as far into the early hours of Monday as possible to talk and relax together, before they fell asleep, so Drew didn't get his schedule messed up too much. Working the night shift had some benefits, but one of the drawbacks was the times he slept were different than most people. Rick was open to following Drew's sleep schedule as best he could, but since Wendy, Gabby and Terry were used to daytime hours, the three weren't able to follow his schedule as much. They all understood why he was sleeping during the day and never asked him to change his schedule while they were there.

With the weekend off, Drew felt like he'd recharged a lot after such an emotional week, but it also made him not really want to go back to work, having enjoyed his time with Rick and their family.

When the moms arrived back at Drew and Rick's, the guys and Gabby got up and after breakfast, Drew went over to Rick's place with them to help them move some furniture, before returning home to go to bed for a few more hours before he had to get ready for work. He didn't want to take a nap, but he knew he'd have a twelve hour night shift, so he wanted to sleep a few more hours, hoping it'd be enough to get him through the long shift.

...

It was a little after four when Drew woke up again, finding dinner being made by their moms and Gabby, while Rick watched TV on the couch; the women insisting he didn't have to help and he wasn't going to argue with them. Getting showered and ready for work, Drew joined his fiancé in the living room a short while later.

As soon as Drew appeared, Rick turned off the TV and turned to him, "damn, no scrubs?"

Drew laughed lightly and sat next to him, "I change at work, usually."

"Probably better that way, anyway. Every time I see you in them, I remember being in the hospital as a patient," Rick muttered.

Immediately, Drew knew what Rick meant and put his arm around him, "hopefully some day I can change that," Drew kissed him, "I don't want to you to be scared of me dressed in them."

"I'm not scared, it just brings back foggy memories I'd rather forget," Rick shrugged, "but I'd like that," he winked, kissing Drew again, this time deepening it for a moment.

"I don't wanna go to work," Drew muttered after they pulled from their kiss, "wanna stay here with you."

Rick settled against his fiancé, "I know, but I'll be here when you get home and you can always call or text during the night. I'll try to stay awake."

Drew smiled, "sounds like a plan."

...

**Monday Night**

After dinner, Wendy, Terry and Gabby went back over to Rick's apartment to bring back another load of belongings, letting the guys have some time to themselves before Drew went to work; both guys appreciating their family was giving them some space as often as possible.

Drew found himself in the kitchen, watching his coffee pot, one of the few appliances he used on a regular basis. He knew caffeine wasn't the greatest for his body, but it helped keep him going through some of the night and he'd probably go through a few more coffees before his shift was over.

"A watched pot never boils and all that," Rick smirked, coming into the kitchen.

"I know, but force of habit," Drew admitted, shrugging as he turned to look at his fiancé, "usually I don't have anything else to look at," he added, smiling at him, "how's the leg?"

"Sore, not as bad, though," Rick replied, taking a seat at the table, "need anything done around here?"

"What do you mean?" Drew wondered, hearing his coffee began to drip into his thermos.

"I don't know. Are there projects you've been putting off?" Rick wondered, "I know we started unpacking some of the stuff they've been bringing over from my place, but it's not top on my priority list."

Drew shrugged, moving to sit facing him, "honestly, not really. I've been a little busy with work, but I'm sure you could find something to do. I was thinking of moving all of our uniforms into the closet in the second bedroom. The one I've got my workout equipment and desk in. The closet is mostly empty."

"I think that can be managed," Rick smiled, "hopefully we won't get them mixed up."

"Yeah, we'll have to be extra cautious with that," Drew agreed, returning his smile and taking Rick's hands in his, "but I think we'll be good."

Rick squeezed his hands gently, "yeah. Um," Rick took a deep breath, "I'd like to talk to you about what Landry and I discussed the other day."

"Oh yeah?" Drew raised a curious eyebrow, "you don't have to. I'm happy to listen, but that's between you two."

"I know," Rick nodded, "but I want you to know what I'm thinking. I know this is a hell of a time to bring it up, when you're getting ready for work, but sometime soon I'd like to, okay?"

"Of course," Drew leaned in and kissed him, "anytime. I'm here," he paused and looked at him, "should I be worried?"

"No," Rick shook his head, "nothing like that, I swear. Just, this has given me a different outlook on life," he motioned to his leg, "and when I was talking with Landry, it came up. I'm pretty sure she won't tell you anything, because I know about the doctor-patient confidentiality, but I want you to know. I want to hear what you have to say."

"Okay, do you want to give me a hint?" Drew wondered, trying to figure out exactly what Rick was talking about.

Rick glanced at the clock and could see Drew still had some time before he had to leave, "well, an idea I've had is resigning my commission," he said softly.

"What?" Drew gasped, his eyes widening in shock, "is this because you don't think anyone's going to take your seriously anymore? Because they will."

"It's not that... I know at first I was concerned about it, but I just... I always figured I'd be career military and retire with twenty or more years, but this," Rick motioned to his leg, "has been an eye-opener. Don't get me wrong, I love the Army, but I don't know if I want to continue on that path anymore... Even if I can or they want me to."

Drew took a moment to soak in what Rick was saying. They'd always shared similar views about continuing their military careers, so it was a big shock to hear he was truly thinking about leaving the Army. Drew also knew he didn't know exactly what was going on in Rick's mind with everything that happened and as much as it surprised him to think that Rick may resign, he completely understood this experience being eye-opening.

Scooting his chair forward, Drew leaned in and pressed a kiss to Rick's lips while still holding onto his hands, "I can't imagine everything that's going on in your head, but I get that you're thinking about things. What I can tell you is I'm here. It'd be weird to not have you in the Army, but if that's what you choose to do, then I'll support you one-hundred-percent. Just promise me you won't go making this decision anytime soon, okay?"

Rick smiled and nodded at him, "I promise. I'm not going to make any big decisions for a while, well, maybe a few, but not that one. I just... I wanted to tell you. There's more, but that can wait until later," he explained, relieved that Drew wasn't against the idea of him leaving the Army and decided to keep the rest of his thought to himself; he wanted save that conversation until they had more time to talk.

"I appreciate you telling me," Drew admitted, squeezing his hands, and leaned in to kiss his fiancé, "I'll always love you, no matter what."

"I'll always love you, too," Rick replied with a smile, "now, you better go before you're late."

"It's just after six," Drew replied, shifting closer to him, "and our moms and Gabby aren't back yet," he reached up to rest his hands on Rick's cheeks, "maybe we could find something to do for a little bit."

"Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?" Rick wondered curiously.

Drew leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, his arms moving to wrap around Rick's shoulders, "maybe this?"

Rick smirked, the position they were in wasn't the easiest, but he had an idea and pushed himself up and then moved to sit on Drew's lap, "now, I'm not quite sure I figured it out. You wanna show me again?" He smiled, slipping his arms around Drew's neck.

Easily Drew wrapped his arms around his fiancé and kissed him again, loving the opportunity to just be with Rick. Both of them were reacting to being so close to each other, but before they could truly continue their kiss, the front door opened and the guys knew their moms and Gabby had returned, "seriously?" Drew muttered, pressing his forehead against Rick's.

"It was probably a good thing," Rick whispered, "I don't want you to be late."

"Oh yeah. Work," Drew nodded, tightening his arms around him, "you mean I can't stay here with you?"

"Not right now, but we can pick this back up when you get home," Rick promised, kissing him just as the women entered the kitchen.

"Well aren't you two cozy," Terry grinned, walking towards them with an envelope in her hand, "Drew, this is for you."

"Me?" Drew raised a curious eyebrow as he reluctantly let go of Rick to take the item from her, "what is it?"

"We're not sure. We found it when we were cleaning out Rick's desk. It's addressed to you," Wendy replied.

Drew glanced at it, immediately recognizing the handwriting as Rick's, "you were going to send me a letter?" He asked, seeing it already had a stamp on it.

Rick glanced at it, "why would I do that when I can text, email or call you?" He asked, "I don't know what that is," he admitted, not remembering the contents.

With a shrug, Drew tapped the envelope on the table so the letter moved to an end and then tore the edge off, pulled out the handwritten letter on baby blue paper and began to read.

As soon as Rick saw the color of the paper, he recognized it, "NO! Don't read that!" Rick reached for it, tugging the sheets from him, but not before Drew had a chance to read the first few lines.

"What's that all about?" Gabby asked, confused, "I thought you didn't know what it was."

"I didn't until I saw the color of the paper," Rick looked at Drew, "you never should have to read that."

"But it was addressed to him. You meant to send it, right?" Terry asked.

Drew turned his eyes away from them and took a moment to gather his thoughts, before looking back at his fiancé, "let me read what I just read and they'll understand."

"Okay," Rick sighed, handing him the papers and biting his lip.

Taking it back, Drew opened it to read the first few lines, "_My Dearest Drew, I love you with all my heart. If you're reading this letter, I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my promise of coming back to you. My hope is you found this letter, but if not, whoever did, I'm glad they got it to you..._" Drew stopped and folded the letter, fighting tears in his eyes as he looked at Rick, "I know what we should do with this," he said softly and at Rick's nod, Drew began ripping the paper to pieces, "you came home to me, so I don't need to read anymore. Anything in here, you can tell me yourself."

Rick nodded, relieved that Drew didn't continue reading. It wasn't because of what was in it, it was the reason for writing it in the first place. It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to write a goodbye letter to their spouse or family, in case they didn't return from deployment. Rick had written it just before he got deployed the last time. By then, Drew was out of medical school and about to start his first year at San Antonio Memorial Hospital. He knew he'd be working at the hospital for a few years and in case something happened, Rick wanted to make sure Drew got a personal letter from him; not just let him hear 'sorry for you loss' from someone.

"You already know most of it," Rick admitted, shifting to move back to his own chair.

Drew dropped the torn up pieces of paper on the table and grabbed onto Rick, "where are you going?"

Rick smiled lightly at his arms around him, but he shook his head, "you've gotta go or you're gonna be late," he replied, kissing him.

Drew sighed, knowing he was right and reluctantly let him move back to his seat, "yeah, alright," he took a deep breath, "not exactly in the best mind to go, though," he added, standing up and getting his coffee.

"I'm so sorry," Terry admitted, "we wouldn't have given it to you if we had realized what it was."

"It's okay," Drew waved off her apology, "you didn't know. It's emotional, but we knew he might not come back and this was his way of saying 'goodbye' if he didn't. Thankfully, I didn't have to read it for the reasons he wrote it," Drew explained, resting his hand on Rick's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm glad I could come home to you," Rick agreed, shifting to push himself up to face Drew, "come here," he smiled, pulling Drew towards him, the two wrapping their arms around each other in a tight hug, "I love you," Rick murmured.

Drew smiled, "I love you, too. I'll see you in the morning."

...

On his drive to the hospital, Drew did his best to shake the eerie letter he'd started to read. He completely understood the reason Rick wrote it, but it still shook him. Every day he worried he'd get _that_ call and he was glad he never did; he was extremely relieved and thankful when he got that text from Rick saying he was coming home. The message never prepared them for what would happen when Rick did get back, but through it all, no matter how hard Rick's recovery would be, Drew was gonna be by his side and he was thankful to have Rick home with him; he knew they could face it all together.

Telling himself he'd be seeing Rick after his shift, Drew parked his SUV in the employee parking lot and got out. Grabbing his coffee and his bag, he was startled from his thoughts at the sound of a motorcycle and glanced up to see TC arriving and parked near him, so he waited for him to climb off his bike.

"Hey, TC," Drew waved, walking towards him.

"Hey, Drew. How was your weekend?" TC asked, hanging his helmet on the handlebar of his bike and walked to meet him, patting him on the shoulder, "how's Rick?"

"I'm doing alright, so is Rick. His leg doesn't hurt as bad as it did. Just taking it one day at a time. Weekend was great," Drew replied, "thanks for asking."

TC put his arm around his shoulders as they walked, "I'm glad things are going well and I bet there's some added benefits to having your fiancé home, eh?" TC grinned, nudging him with his shoulder.

Drew blushed a little and nodded, "yeah. Though, with our moms and sister here, we don't get as much time alone, though they do give us some space."

"How long are they staying?" TC asked as they began to walk into the hospital.

"Not sure. No one has really talked about it. They're helping pack Rick's apartment and moving what they can over to our place, but after that. I don't know. We love them and appreciate them coming, but," he paused trying to figure out the right words, "Rick's on crutches, so he's getting around really well and other than a concern of falling, there's not much going on they can do."

"I'm sure once they see you guys have things under control they'll go home. They can always visit later," TC replied.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," Drew agreed, sipping his coffee.

"Well, if you ever need someone to help move furniture let me know. I'd be happy to help," TC replied.

"Thanks," Drew smiled, "you sure?"

"Definitely," TC nodded, "that's what friends are for."

...

**Monday Night ('1x07 - Blood Brothers')**

The shift started like a normal night; a quick meeting by the nurse's station before the staff moved on to taking care of patients, some having been there a few hours, while others were just arriving.

A little after nine, TC and Topher headed out to a plane crash in a nearby park. They had go in the helicopter, because there was no road access, leaving Jordan as the only senior doctor in the ER, Drew being 'next in line'.

Not too long after TC and Topher left, around nine-forty-five, Drew got his next patient of the night. It was a twenty-four year old woman, named Candy, dressed in a very revealing outfit, being wheeled in on a gurney, with her neck wrapped in a brace. The paramedics explained her condition and she immediately said she was a stripper and had fallen off the pole during her routine. Drew, being the nearest doctor, and the only guy the ER not distracted by her appearance, introduced himself as they headed towards a room to check her out. Drew noticed Paul's sudden attention to her, and initially thinking Candy's case would be a simple one, Drew quickly asked Paul to assist and he jumped at the chance.

Moving Candy into an exam room, Drew watched Kenny and Paul have a brief conversation in the hallway, while Drew and one of the female nurses helped the paramedics get Candy off the gurney and onto the bed.

Once she was settled, the paramedics left with their gurney, for the moment leaving Drew and the female nurse alone with Candy, "alright, Candy, I'm gonna ask you some questions, probably ones you've already answered, but I need to know, alright?"

As best she could, the blond nodded, "okay."

"How exactly did this happen?" Drew asked, putting gloves on and beginning a simple physical exam.

"I was doing my routine and I went to spin around on the pole. I've done it a thousand times before without a problem, but this time, I slipped and landed on my side, jerking my neck hard, because when I landed it hurt," she explained, "it's better now. Can we take the brace off?" She asked, reaching up to brush her hand against the firm plastic collar.

"Not yet," Drew shook his head as he used a pen light to look into her eyes, "I want to get an x-ray and some blood work done. Until those results come back, I want to keep your neck and spine stable until I can rule some things out."

"Oh," she sighed, "alright. Do what you need to do."

Drew nodded, "okay," he replied, seeing Paul walk into the room, "Dr. Cummings, why don't you draw some blood from Candy and then send her to get an x-ray done," Drew suggested, "is there anyone you'd like me to call?" He asked, glancing back at the woman.

"No," Candy shook her head, "it's just me."

Again, Drew nodded and then noticed Paul had his eyes on Candy, "Paul!" Drew snapped lightly, trying to catch his attention.

"Uh, what?" Paul shook his head and looked up at Drew, "what?"

"I said, would you please draw some blood and send it to the lab and then have Candy taken for an x-ray of her neck?" Drew repeated.

"Oh yes, of course," Paul nodded moving towards the counter.

Drew eyed him for a moment as the nurse began to help Paul gather the supplies he'd need to draw blood. Drew could tell that Paul was trying not to look at Candy, but his eyes kept venturing towards her body and Drew rolled his eyes, "_maybe this wasn't such a good idea,_" he silently told himself, shaking from his thoughts to return his focus to continuing a physical exam to make sure she didn't have any additional injuries that went unnoticed by her or the paramedics.

Kenny joined them moments later, as Drew was examining her and Paul had successfully accessed a vein to draw blood from. Kenny quickly noticed Paul's attention continually drifting towards Candy, "dude, if you let that vial fill up any more it's gonna overflow," Kenny commented, reaching out to snap his fingers in front of Paul's face.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Paul quickly pulled the first vial away and replaced it with another one to draw some more blood, needing a few vials full.

Drew and Kenny exchanged silent smirks, both men getting tons of ideas on pranks they could pull on the intern in the future.

Finally focusing on his task, Paul filled up the necessary vials and then removed everything from her arm and placed a cotton ball on the tiny spot where the needle had been, using a piece of tape to secure it snugly, so she wouldn't continue to bleed.

"Okay, Candy, I don't see or feel any additional injuries we're missing, so you're going to go for an x-ray of your neck and once I have a chance to review it, we'll see about getting that brace off," Drew explained, looking at her.

"Thanks," Candy nodded carefully.

Drew returned her nod and stepped out with her chart to write the orders, while the female nurse and Paul wheeled her out of the exam room, so they could go to x-ray.

"Dude," Kenny smirked, waiting for Paul to disappear down the hallway, before he continued, "he is totally out of it," he laughed, "I mean come on, she's hot, and I'm totally into her, but he's acting like he's never seen a woman before. What do you think?"

"She seems like a nice girl who got hurt at work and is here for our help," Drew replied, trying to remain professional and wondering if Kenny realized what he was asking. Drew felt bad that he used to 'talk' about women with Kenny, so he could keep his secret, but now that he was out, he refused to pretend he was interested or attracted to women, "as for how she looks. I wouldn't know, but Paul is going to have to get over his nerves, because that's no way to act around a patient."

Kenny eyed him for a moment, initially not realizing why Drew sounded different than he usually did when they talked about women, but quickly he figured it out, "oh, crap, Drew, sorry, man, I forgot."

"It's alright," Drew waved off his apology, "it's nice to know you still think of me the same way."

"You're still one of my best friends," Kenny assured him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks and the feeling's mutual," Drew replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "I have a call to make."

"Oh, alright, later," Kenny nodded.

...

With Candy off to x-ray, Drew grabbed his coffee and headed down the hallway to an empty exam room and closed the door once he was inside. He wanted a break to call his fiancé and actually talk with him, without being interrupted by his coworkers, which is why he didn't go to the staff lounge.

Drew had done his best to stay professional around Candy, Paul and Kenny, even after Kenny's comments to him, but Drew needed a moment to laugh at how Paul was reacting around the blond. Drew knew if he would have continued his conversation with Kenny, they could have laughed over Paul, but there were things that Drew knew only his fiancé would understand, so he quickly called Rick's cell phone.

"Hey, sweetheart," Rick greeted, "everything alright?"

Before Drew could say anything, he burst out laughing. After a moment, he calmed down enough to explain Paul's distraction to the female patient, without breaking doctor-patient confidentiality, and chose to leave his and Kenny's conversation for another time, "I don't know what's up with Paul. I don't think I've ever seen him like this before."

Rick got a chance to laugh about Paul and understood why Drew couldn't tell him any more about her, though he'd told him plenty for Rick to figure out why his fiancé was laughing, "that's funny. I mean, I get how he could be distracted, but I definitely wouldn't be. Girls are not my cup of tea, so to speak."

"Which is why I called you. I knew you'd understand," Drew replied, smiling and taking his pager out to see if he had any messages about lab results being back yet.

"Yeah, I do," Rick agreed, "sounds like Paul is a little inexperienced at being around women."

"I'm definitely thinking the same thing," Drew admitted, "that's got to be the reason he's so distracted," he added, "okay, enough about him, what's up?"

"Not much, but now you have me wondering," Rick commented playfully.

"Oh no," Drew groaned, hearing the playfulness in his voice, "babe, I'm working."

"I know," Rick laughed lightly, "and now I'm curious just what you'd do if a hot guy came into the ER. Would you get distracted?"

Drew smirked, able to tell Rick was teasing him, "I don't know. I don't think so, but," he paused, "there was this one that came in last week."

"Oh yeah?" Rick grinned, thinking he knew where Drew was going with his comment.

"Yeah, he was dressed in Army camouflage. He'd had a rough night and I did my best to visit him a few times, but it was busy in the ER and at the time I wasn't out yet. Then, later, when he was going up for surgery, after someone helped me realize a few things, I knew I couldn't let him go without telling him how I felt. I came out in front of everyone to show him that he meant the world to me."

Rick smiled at the memory, "I remember this really hot ER doctor last week who did something very similar. We must be talking about each other, huh?"

"Yeah, I think we are," Drew replied, taking a deep breath, "in all honesty, I see people from all walks of life every shift. I swear, I only have eyes for you, but there have been times I've thought a guy was attractive. Sorry, babe."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Rick commented, "I get it and I've had similar times. I don't have a problem with you looking, or even touching, as long as it's for medical reasons. I know you're faithful to me, just like I'm faithful to you."

Drew smiled, "how did I get so lucky to have you in my life?"

"I ask myself that same question everyday, because I'm so thankful for us to have each other," Rick explained, "we are definitely very lucky."

"We are," Drew agreed, taking a deep breath, "which makes me feel even worse for the way I treated you that night in the ER," he admitted, looking at the ring on his hand and nervously spinning it on his finger, "I've replayed that night a few times in my dreams and while I'm awake and there were so many times when you were mostly alone that I could have come in and sat with you, talked with you, there were tons of things I could have done without anyone suspecting anything, but I..."

Rick was surprised Drew was bringing that up, but figured their conversation stirred up his thoughts about it, "Drew, don't second guess what you did that night. I was out of it for a while, and we were both trying to hide, in some ways, and anything that happened before you stopped us in the hallway, as far as I'm concerned, is a distant memory and something we can forget. I'd rather focus on the good parts of that day," Rick explained, "I needed you more than anything and it took a bit, but you gave me that and so much more."

Drew cracked a light smile and blinked away tears forming in his eyes, "you are everything to me."

"And I feel the same way about you," Rick replied happily, "you okay?"

"Yeah. I love hearing your voice," Drew smiled, taking a calming breath.

"I love hearing yours, too," Rick smiled, "you know, getting a random phone call from you is really cool and hearing stories like what you just told me about Paul, are so much funnier when I can react with you, instead of waiting a few days to get your email about it."

Drew smiled, "I get what you mean," he agreed, "and having you at home, makes going home after work so much more enjoyable, though, it makes my shift seem so much longer."

"It'll go by fast," Rick replied, trying to stay positive.

"I hope so," Drew's pager beeped in his hand and he flipped it open to look at the message, "hey, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Sounds like a plan. Later, babe. Love you," Rick replied.

Drew smiled again, "love you, too, sweetheart."

...

Drew returned to the ER to find the x-ray was ready for Candy, so he pulled Paul aside so they could look at it. Soon after, the two doctors moved back into Candy's exam room. Paul looked at the x-ray again and since Drew was happy to see no injuries, he removed the neck brace.

Immediately, she wanted to go back to work, but Drew didn't want her leaving without him seeing the lab results to make sure she was really okay. Drew was then paged for one of his other patients, so he couldn't stay with Candy to keep her there, and as much as he didn't want to, because of how distracted Paul had been, he didn't have a choice and had to put Paul in charge of keeping her there.

By this time, TC and Topher were back with the only survivor from the plane crash and Jordan and Krista were busy with their own emergency, so the ER's pace had picked up a little.

A little after eleven, Drew got an odd page from Paul.

**Paul:** Come to the supply closet quick! I need help!

Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Drew hoped Paul wasn't 'crying wolf' and took off to the supply closet nearby. Pushing the door open, Drew's eyes widened when he saw Candy laying on the floor, "what the hell?" Drew exclaimed, rushing inside, immediately using his pager to send Kenny a message asking him to bring a backboard.

Putting aside the location of where they were, Drew quickly set to work trying to figure out what was wrong with her, while they waited for Kenny to come with a backboard. From some of the symptoms that Drew was seeing, he thought she was having a stroke, and when Kenny arrived, even though he was confused, the three guys got her on the backboard and quickly took her back to the exam room she'd been in to figure out what was going on.

With the help of a few female aids, they changed Candy into a hospital gown and quickly took her up for an MRI. Drew went along with Kenny, so he could see the MRI immediately and not wait for results. When he and Kenny returned with Candy, Paul met them at the elevator and helped them wheel her back to the exam room.

Candy was groggy and semi-conscious, but could move her head around, even though she couldn't speak.

"Obviously she's gonna be out of it for a little while. What did the MRI say?" Paul asked, walking backwards as he guided the bed down the hallway.

"MRI's clean," Drew replied simply.

"That doesn't make any sense. What's wrong with her?" Paul wondered.

"I don't know," Drew told him honestly, "so Paul, give it up. What happened?" Drew asked, finally able to focus on exactly why she and Paul were in the supply closet together.

Paul nervously paused while someone was being wheeled out of a room the guys were about to pass and turned to Kenny and Drew, "uh, she was dancing."

"Dancing?" Kenny raised a curious eyebrow, "what were you doing in the... Oh... Oh... you paid her for a lap dance!" Kenny and Drew exchanged grins and laughed as they put the pieces together, "you paid her for a lap dance!"

At his comment, Paul got distracted and accidentally bumped into a passing nurse. Quickly wanting to change the subject so no one found out, Paul glared at Kenny and Drew, "could we just find out why she's stroking out?"

"Maybe it was all your built up virgin pressure," Kenny suggested with a grin.

"It's not funny, okay?" Paul hissed.

"Candy's condition's not funny! You getting a lap dance in the supply closet is hysterical," Drew retorted harshly, though he kept his voice low so it didn't travel far.

"Give us a heads up next time. I'd cover for you. God knows Drew can keep a secret, too," Kenny added, glancing at Drew.

Kenny's words hit Drew harder than he probably meant them to, but Drew suddenly felt like there was more to them than just giving Paul a hard time. Thus far, Kenny had been supportive of Drew's coming out and his relationship with Rick, so the words stung. Suddenly, Drew became concerned and wanted to confront Kenny to see what he was getting at, but he knew the middle of the ER hallway wasn't the place to talk about it, so he decided to wait until they could have some more privacy.

"There's not gonna be a next time, okay? You're not gonna tell Jordan about the lap dance, right?" Paul asked nervously.

Rolling his eyes, Drew looked at Paul, "I don't think her gyrating on you is related to her condition. Let's just get her in the room and run some [more] tests."

...

Quickly, Drew ordered some more tests to be done and once they got Candy comfortable, Paul said he'd stay to monitor her, which gave Drew a chance to follow Kenny and hoped he could talk with him. Kenny was carrying a load of dirty blankets down a quiet hallway, and paused at a soiled linen cart, so Drew knew he had a chance, "so what did you mean by 'God knows Drew can keep a secret'?" Drew asked him, "we cool?"

"Yeah, it was nothin', man. I was just kiddin'," Kenny replied, dropping the blankets off.

"Were ya?" Drew eyed him skeptically, "'cause I thought I heard a little edge in there. You know, had a little something to it," Drew replied as they walked towards the doctor's locker room.

Kenny sighed, "okay, I know it sounds..." He paused, rubbing his chin, "wow, I was about to say 'gay'... Look man, I just, uh, uh..." Kenny nervously pushed the door open, moving into the locker room and towards the supply closet, "I don't care, man. I really don't. Rick seems like a really cool guy and I'm glad he's feelin' better."

Drew was happy to hear that, but he knew he was holding something else back, "hey, spit it out."

The guys reached the shelves of supplies and Kenny turned to Drew, "alright, fine. I was pissed that you didn't think you could tell me. Quite honestly, I still am. I mean, come on, man. It's me. It's me, dude. I would never turn my back on you. Ever. And just knowing that you felt like you had to shoulder this whole thing by yourself and live a lie around me... Man, that kills me," Kenny paused, shrugging, "you're one of my best friends, and it made me feel like you couldn't trust me. I guess I just thought we were closer than that, that's all."

"You're right," Drew nodded as Kenny reached for some of the clean blankets, "it sounded a little gay," he agreed, trying to lighten the mood a little and both laughed at it, "come on, man. You are one of my best friends and I do trust you, but I needed to come out when I was ready and I wasn't until that moment, so you can't take it personal. It's not about you. It was about me. It was my thing, okay?" Drew admitted, hoping Kenny understood, "so we cool?"

Kenny took a moment to contemplate what Drew was saying and nodded, "yeah, we're good, man," he replied, giving him a quick hug and teased him a little, causing both of them to laugh, "anyways, about that Krista situation. Now that she's done beardin' for you, you gonna help me out with her or not, huh?" Kenny wondered, grabbing a stack of clean sheets in his arms.

Drew grabbed a stack himself and added them to Kenny's armload, "dude, I've been trying," Drew replied moving out of the closet and towards the exit, "if you stopped playing so much, maybe you'd get somewhere."

"Playing? I'm not a player," Kenny retorted, following Drew. Drew laughed, "I'm not a player, dude. I just crush a lot," Kenny added.

...

It was a little after eleven-thirty when Drew moved back into Candy's room. Paul was there checking her over and Kenny was documenting her vitals. Drew took her chart to look over what test results came back and after seeing them, he sighed and knew it was time to admit he needed help and moved off to find Jordan, hoping she'd have some ideas to what was going on.

Drew went over Candy's condition with Jordan and the two moved into the room as Drew explained. Jordan began doing a brief exam on Candy and she was surprised to find out she had 'collapsed' as she was leaving; Drew and Kenny both helped cover up just how it happened, so Jordan didn't find out about Paul and Candy.

After talking with the guys and checking Candy over, Jordan thought she knew what was wrong and immediately Drew knew what to do, so she left him to continue with her care. Drew was glad for the help and quickly ordered the tests and made a few phone calls.

The lab that would do one of the tests was free, so they came right away to do it and took it to get it loaded into the computer.

Drew, Kenny and Paul were still in Candy's room, keeping an eye on her and suddenly her oxygen levels and blood pressure dropped quickly. Jordan was nearby and heard the commotion as the guys began to work on Candy and Drew asked her if she'd seen the test results yet. Jordan admitted they were clean and now was just as baffled by what was going on with Candy as everyone else was.

Jordan knew they needed more help, so she had TC and Topher paged to come help. They'd been gone with their plane crash victim for quite a while and she figured they'd be able to figure out what was going on with Candy, but until then, she suggested they get Candy on oxygen and hoped that would help her out until they could figure it out.

...

At the same time the guys were trying to help Candy, the patient Krista had been working on had a major issue and Jordan was quickly pulled in to help Krista.

While Jordan was gone, Candy's condition worsened and she wasn't responding to what they were doing, so they had Kenny go get Jordan. When she came in, they told her what was going on and she was surprised TC and Topher hadn't joined them to help out. Trying to figure everything out, Jordan quickly ordered Kenny to get some blood for an arterial blood gas panel and when he did, it didn't look like it was supposed to. Drew thought he'd gotten the blood from the wrong spot, but Kenny assured him it was from the right place and Paul suddenly had an idea.

"Go get methylene blue... Now!" Paul snapped quickly.

"Why?" Jordan asked confused as Kenny dashed off to get the drug.

"Earlier, when Candy was giving me a lap dance, she kept mentioning redcurrant UTIs and having trouble getting in to see a doctor. If she was taking over-the-counter UTI meds, [...] and she kept taking too much, it would eventually cause..."

"Met-hemoglobin anemia," Drew jumped in, realizing what he was getting at.

"Yes, that would explain the altered mental status, the stroke symptoms and the unresponsive oxygen levels," Jordan agreed, setting Candy's chart aside.

"That's probably why she fell off the pole in the first place," Drew added.

Kenny returned with the drug and handed the syringe off to Jordan. Immediately, she added it to the IV and within moments, Candy began to positively respond to the medicine.

"I'm sorry, Paul, did you say lap dance?" Jordan asked, suddenly realizing what he'd said, "are you getting lap dances in _my_ ER?"

"Uh, look I need to recheck her vitals... Excuse me" Paul commented, trying to pass off her question and slid past Jordan to do what he needed to.

"Jordan, I need you," Ragosa commented, stepping into the room.

Jordan looked at her boss and then turned to Paul, "we are _not_ done with this," she commented, before moving out of the room.

As soon as Jordan was out of the room, Paul's phone began to ring and Drew smirked, "man, I gotta hand it to you. I did not think you had the balls to get a lap dance at work."

"Little boy's growing up, huh?" Kenny laughed lightly as Paul stepped out of the room. Once he was out of earshot, Kenny looked at Drew, "this is definitely going to be a night to remember."

Drew nodded in agreement and laughed with Kenny, "oh yeah! Definitely not one I'm gonna forget."

...

**Tuesday, July 29, 2014** ** ('1x07 - Blood Brothers')**

A little after midnight, news quickly traveled that there had just been a chemical explosion at a nearby fertilizer plant. Knowing they'd need more doctors, Jordan went up to radiology to find TC and Topher, because they still hadn't returned from their earlier trip.

Knowing they were the only major trauma center within ten counties, everyone began to scramble to get patients up to regular hospital floors and to clean up all the trauma and exam rooms, while Drew and some others helped stock the rooms with supplies they'd need for the burn victims they'd soon be getting.

Ragosa was at the nurses station and quickly found out that Jordan hadn't returned with TC and Topher and now he was even more curious what was going on. At the same time, Kenny answered the phone and handed it over to Ragosa, telling him it was security. Ragosa had them pull up a video replay of the security camera outside the radiology room and the administrator suddenly realized why TC, Topher and now Jordan had not returned and quickly made another phone call.

Drew thought it was a little odd that TC and Topher had been gone for so long, but with other things on his mind, he hadn't thought much of it. It wasn't until Jordan took off and didn't return right away, on top of hearing the first group of ambulances from the explosion would be there shortly, that Drew really began to worry about what was going on and went to the one person he figured would know something, Ragosa, who'd been at the nurses station making phone calls for the last little while.

Moving up to Ragosa, Drew put his hand on Ragosa's back to get his attention, "hey, what the hell is going on?" Drew asked simply.

"TC, Topher and Jordan are in a hostage situation," Ragosa explained softly.

Trying to stay calm, Drew stared at Ragosa, "what?" He asked as he stiffened nervously.

"Listen," the shorter man rested his hands on Drew's arms and looked up at him, "I need you to step up. Scott is on his way in and we have a lot of victims en route, so right now it is on you, because you're the most senior doctor in the ER, okay?"

Without another word, Drew nodded and took a calming breath, before turning towards the group of people scrambling to get ready for the arrivals, "uh, Krista! Paul! Here," he motioned towards him, "you're in Trauma 3," he motioned to Krista, then pointed to Paul, "you're in Trauma 4. Whatever comes in, you assist on. You're gonna see some scary things tonight. Know the patient is always more scared than you."

"Got it," Paul nodded.

"I'm ready," Krista replied.

"Go," Drew nodded at the two and then turned to the nurse near him, "Jocelyn, you're gonna be in [Trauma] 2 with me," he told her then moved around the nurse's station and saw Landry, "Landry, can you help with intake and assist with triage?"

Landry nodded, "whatever you need," she reached out and put her hand on his arm to calm him, "and Drew, you got this," she assured him, able to tell he was nervous to be 'in charge' at the moment, because Jordan, TC and Topher were nowhere in sight and victims were almost there.

Drew took a deep breath and nodded at her, "thanks."

Suddenly, a team of SWAT officers walked into the entrance of the emergency room, startling everyone standing around. Ragosa went up to meet them and he quickly explained the situation to them, without going into too many details so everyone could hear. The leader of the team wanted to close the hospital down, but Ragosa said they couldn't because of the victims coming there from the explosion, so they could have the second floor where radiology was. The team leader didn't like that answer, but Drew, having seen their arrival, joined Ragosa, "we're the only [major] trauma center in ten counties. Victims are coming here. You gotta figure something else out. Closing isn't an option."

Realizing they wouldn't be able to close down the hospital to deal with the hostage situation, the SWAT officers agreed to take only the second floor and moved off to the elevators, leaving Ragosa at the nurse's station for a moment. The SWAT team was an easy distraction and Drew realized people were a little freaked out by their arrival, so he moved to Ragosa and suggested he should tell everyone what was going on.

As much as Ragosa didn't want everyone to panic, he agreed with Drew, "okay... Oh, man..." Ragosa clapped his hands together and waited until he had most everyone's attention, "um, I'm not going to lie to you. There's a possible hostage situation with TC, Topher and Jordan," he started, hearing gasps from around the area, and continued, "the SWAT team is here to take care of it... Okay... okay... Just listen to me. No matter what you are feeling, no matter how much we are worried about them, we have a job to do. I know it's hard, but everybody is depending on us, so let's focus, dig deep and treat these people like we would our own families, okay?" He clapped his hands together just as the sirens stopped in the ambulance bay, "let's go!"

Within moments, paramedics rushed two burn victims in on gurneys, spouting off their vitals and Molly directed them into specific trauma rooms.

"Alright let's do this, people! We're on!" Drew called out, quickly asking Molly to set up a place for triage. At that same moment, Drew closed his eyes and took a calming breath, telling himself, "_okay, you can do this. Just take it one step at a time. One patient at a time._"

**12:25am**

...

**Tuesday, July 29, 2014 ('1x08 - Save Me')**

It seemed like 'all hell broke loose' just after the first patients arrived from the explosion. Not only was the ER getting busy from victims, the news was reporting that patients were going to San Antonio Memorial Hospital and other 'local area hospitals', so family members of people who could be injured were beginning to fill up the waiting room and overwhelm the people trying to get information from them about who they were looking for.

On top of the family members and patients from the explosion arriving, Drew soon heard that during the hostage situation, Dwayne had been killed and when SWAT stormed the room, the guy holding TC, Topher and Jordan hostage shot Topher and they were rushing him down to the ER.

Drew was saddened to hear about Dwayne and as much as Drew wanted to focus on him and Topher, Drew had to take care of the victims and chose to put his faith in Jordan and TC to take care of Topher. That didn't stop him from asking about Topher when Jordan appeared in one of the trauma rooms Drew was working in, to pull Paul out for something. She admitted it didn't look good, but TC was working on him and Scott was on his way in to help, so she implied to hope for the best and that's what Drew chose to do, putting his focus back on the patients needing his help at the moment, because he trusted TC and Scott.

The minutes blurred by and as Drew walked out of one of the trauma rooms to get something from the nurse's station, he saw Jordan, Kenny, Scott and TC pushing Topher's gurney out of the trauma room and down the hallway, screaming for people to move. Drew immediately grew concerned and asked what happened, with Krista and Paul right behind him, but no one answered as they rushed Topher down to the elevator.

Turning around, Drew looked at Krista and Paul. He could tell both of them were as worried as he was about Topher, but Drew knew they had others to take care of, so he rested his hands on their shoulders, "they'll take care of Topher, so let's just take a breath, relax and focus on the people we can help right now, okay?" He asked and at their nods, the two turned to walk away and Drew took a calming breath, as his mind raced with thoughts, "_Topher's gonna be okay, so take your own advice and relax. There's plenty of people you can help right now, so focus on them. Topher would want you to keep working._"

**1:13am**

...

A/N4: Please review and let me know what you think! I hope this chapter goes along with the episodes well, keeping with what happened, while adding some more Drew moments and putting my own twist on a few things, too.

A/N5: After looking at a map of San Antonio and the surrounding area, I realized there are a lot of hospitals there, so that's why I switched up Drew's comment to say it's the only 'major' trauma center. In our area, we have one major trauma center and a few 'sister' hospitals that have an ER, and we're a lot smaller than San Antonio, so I imagine there would be other emergency rooms around, but maybe not ones to handle the major cases like San Antonio Memorial does in the show.

**Up Next:** The rest of '1x08 - Save Me', including some scenes I think should have been in the episode and the aftermath of Drew's long night.

**Personal Update:** Sadly, my mom passed away Tuesday, September 30, 2014. I miss her so much, but she's no longer suffering, so I'm taking comfort in that and she'll always be in my heart. Thank you for your love, support, thoughts and prayers in this difficult time. It really means a lot to me and my family! Love you all!

...


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